CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Lowers Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 387 shares during the quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.65.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.2 %

ALB stock opened at $88.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of -5.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $143.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $96.87 and its 200 day moving average is $93.66.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.67%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.