Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 17.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 989 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALB. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 643.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,020,000 after purchasing an additional 18,299 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Albemarle by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 27,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.1% in the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 11,408 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Cove Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at about $1,828,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $90.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of -5.41 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $101.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.23. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $153.54. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.74.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other 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 transaction of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

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.