Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Albemarle (NYSE:ALB)

Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 32,597 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 156% compared to the average volume of 12,738 put options.

Insider Activity

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 15.0% in the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Albemarle by 95.9% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,038 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.4% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,841 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in Albemarle by 3.7% during the second quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 23,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ALB stock opened at $89.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.32 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $100.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.18. Albemarle has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $153.21.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ALB shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.74.

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.