Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Buys 620 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 80.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 15,819 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. 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. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $342,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB traded up $5.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $108.65. 1,647,010 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,966,328. 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 twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $153.54. The company has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.15.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Albemarle to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.47.

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.