AlphaMark Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,875 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,087 shares during the quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 27,241 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 24.2% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,035 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Albemarle by 70.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Albemarle by 47.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 257,786 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,655,000 after purchasing an additional 82,815 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 60.6% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 22,508 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 8,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value 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 approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.2 %

ALB opened at $88.71 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.66. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $143.19. The firm has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.30, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.58. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently -9.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Albemarle

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.