B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Invests $257,000 in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,709 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 40.6% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albemarle by 116.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter valued at $396,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $109.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.85. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week 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.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -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.