KPP Advisory Services LLC Buys 228 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the first quarter valued at $202,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 14.9% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 126,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,645 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in Albemarle by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Baird R W lowered Albemarle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $1.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.53. 2,498,086 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,971,724. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of -6.18 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $153.54.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -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.