Cynosure Group LLC Lowers Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Cynosure Group LLC trimmed its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 42.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,113 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,018 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after buying an additional 568,563 shares during the period. PGGM Investments increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 261.6% in the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,473,000 after acquiring an additional 299,148 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 115.7% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,791,000 after acquiring an additional 290,862 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after purchasing an additional 264,756 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on ALB shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of 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 six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $107.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $98.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.69. 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 $153.54.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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