Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,823 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,117,000 after purchasing an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 176.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $209,333,000 after buying an additional 3,662,117 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.2% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $149,833,000 after buying an additional 144,705 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Albemarle by 2.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,311,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $125,264,000 after buying an additional 29,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 11.9% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,198,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,503,000 after acquiring an additional 127,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ALB shares. KeyCorp reduced 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $108.38 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.82 and its 200-day moving average is $99.02. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $153.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.55.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is presently -9.67%.

Albemarle 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.