Commerce Bank Grows Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Commerce Bank grew its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,320 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALB. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 116.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Albemarle by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Albemarle by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 162,386 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $108.38 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $97.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.02. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $153.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock has a market cap of $12.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Baird R W downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

About Albemarle

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.