Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Position Increased by Regatta Capital Group LLC

Regatta Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,572 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 3.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $88.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.66. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is -9.67%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.65.

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.