Swedbank AB Decreases Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Swedbank AB lessened its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 24,698 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $4,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. increased its stake in Albemarle by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the third 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. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ALB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Baird R W cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Up 1.1 %

Albemarle stock opened at $107.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.69. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $153.54. 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 Dividend Announcement

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