FORA Capital LLC Acquires 19,320 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

FORA Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,320 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 239.7% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,138,000 after buying an additional 37,958 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after purchasing an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 392.6% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,309 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 32.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after purchasing an additional 127,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 14.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 62,060 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,878,000 after purchasing an additional 7,659 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE:ALB traded up $1.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $108.41. The company had a trading volume of 155,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,926,926. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.85. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America cut their target price on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Baird R W cut Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

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.