Moody National Bank Trust Division Has $291,000 Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,383 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew its holdings 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. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 61.9% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.65.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB opened at $92.71 on Wednesday. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.55 and a 200 day moving average of $93.89. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.53 and a beta of 1.58.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Albemarle Company 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.