Mizuho Cuts Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $105.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its price target reduced by Mizuho from $110.00 to $105.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.84.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $87.30 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 1.58. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.67%.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 9,108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after purchasing an additional 568,563 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,333,000 after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after acquiring an additional 157,319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

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.