Brookstone Capital Management Invests $310,000 in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,597 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% in 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7,667.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 163,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $155,000,000 after purchasing an additional 161,552 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.65.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $97.52 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $143.19. The firm has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.82, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $98.20 and a 200-day moving average of $93.86.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.