M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

M&T Bank Corp cut its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 70.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,311 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 26,974 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 61.9% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its position in Albemarle by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $99.38 on Monday. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $153.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.93 and a beta of 1.56.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Company 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.