Grandfield & Dodd LLC Buys 26,352 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,202 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,352 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Albemarle worth $21,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 4.1% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.3% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 42,529 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ALB. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Albemarle from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $106.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of -6.36 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $153.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.48.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend 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.