BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $24.56 Million Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 39.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,328 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 166,130 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.22% of Albemarle worth $24,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 176.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,588,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,333,000 after buying an additional 3,662,117 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after acquiring an additional 568,563 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Albemarle in the first quarter worth about $49,007,000. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Albemarle by 261.6% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 413,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,473,000 after purchasing an additional 299,148 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 115.7% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 542,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,791,000 after purchasing an additional 290,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $108.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $12.74 billion, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.46. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $153.54.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ALB. KeyCorp cut their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $135.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.47.

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.