Toronto Dominion Bank Has $3.74 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 5,197 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $363,117,000 after acquiring an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 10.2% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,568,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $149,833,000 after purchasing an additional 144,705 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Albemarle by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,311,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $125,264,000 after purchasing an additional 29,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,198,730 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $114,503,000 after buying an additional 127,615 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Albemarle from $190.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB traded up $0.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $99.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,633,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,871,541. The firm's fifty day moving average is $102.06 and its 200 day moving average is $96.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a PE ratio of -5.93 and a beta of 1.56. Albemarle Co. has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $153.54.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.