CWA Asset Management Group LLC Purchases Shares of 2,133 Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,133 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 176.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,117 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,440,000 after purchasing an additional 568,563 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 1st quarter worth about $49,007,000. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 261.6% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,473,000 after purchasing an additional 299,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 115.7% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,791,000 after buying an additional 290,862 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $108.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 1.55. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $153.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.60 and a 200 day moving average of $100.20.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

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.