Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stake Reduced by Cove Private Wealth LLC

Cove Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 31.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,990 shares during the quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Quarry LP boosted its position in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.65.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of ALB stock opened at $97.52 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.58. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $143.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Albemarle Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.