Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $30.22 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 319,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,936 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $30,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 3.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $103.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of -6.18 and a beta of 1.55. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.92.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALB. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Baird R W downgraded Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.