Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 17.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 989 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position 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 worth $54,440,000 after purchasing an additional 568,563 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 115.7% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,791,000 after buying an additional 290,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Albemarle by 38.2% during the third 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 buying an additional 282,194 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 67.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after buying an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Albemarle by 7,667.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 163,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $155,000,000 after acquiring an additional 161,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Down 7.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $90.54 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.23. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $153.54. The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.41 and a beta of 1.56.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.74.

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.