John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Buys 27,604 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 108.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,129 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,604 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $5,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $363,117,000 after purchasing an additional 20,930 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 176.6% during 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 buying an additional 3,662,117 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 10.2% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $149,833,000 after buying an additional 144,705 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,311,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $125,264,000 after acquiring an additional 29,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,198,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $114,503,000 after acquiring an additional 127,615 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE ALB opened at $109.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $153.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.55.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

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.