BNP Paribas Cuts Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

BNP Paribas reduced its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,934 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the period. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Albemarle were worth $846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 3.7% in the 3rd 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. Foster Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 4.1% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.3% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 61.9% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.1 %

ALB stock opened at $107.95 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $98.58 and its 200 day moving average is $98.69. The stock has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.55. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $153.54.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -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.