Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

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Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “ALB.” The following table sets forth on a per share basis the high and low sales prices for our common stock for the periods indicated as reported on the NYSE composite transactions reporting system and the dividends declared per share on our common stock.



	Common Stock Price Range				Dividends Declared Per Share of Common Stock
	High		Low
2013
First Quarter	$	67.75	$	60.71	$	0.24
Second Quarter	$	69.03	$	56.64	$	0.24
Third Quarter	$	66.39	$	60.16	$	0.24
Fourth Quarter	$	70.00	$	62.02	$	0.24
2014
First Quarter	$	67.31	$	60.92	$	0.275
Second Quarter	$	72.69	$	64.55	$	0.275
Third Quarter	$	76.28	$	58.37	$	0.275
Fourth Quarter	$	63.38	$	51.35	$	0.275

There were 78,030,524 shares of common stock held by 2,917 shareholders of record as of December 31, 2014. On February 24, 2015, we declared a dividend of $0.29 per share of common stock, payable April 1, 2015.



Albemarle Corporation and Subsidiaries

The following table summarizes our repurchases of equity securities for the three-month period ended December 31, 2014:



Period	Total Number of Shares Repurchased	Average Price Paid Per Share		Total Number of Shares Repurchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs(a)	Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Repurchased Under the Plans or Programs(a)
October 1, 2014 to October 31, 2014	—	$	—	—	3,972,525
November 1, 2014 to November 30, 2014(b)	223,185	70.60		223,185	3,749,340
December 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014	—	—		—	3,749,340
Total	223,185	$	70.60	223,185	3,749,340


(a)	Our stock repurchase plan, which was authorized by our Board of Directors, became effective on October 25, 2000, and included ten million shares. Since then, the Company has regularly repurchased shares under the stock repurchase plan, resulting in the Board of Directors periodically authorizing additional shares for repurchase under the plan. On February 12, 2013, our Board of Directors authorized another increase in the number of shares, pursuant to which the Company is now permitted to repurchase up to a maximum of fifteen million shares under the plan, including those shares previously authorized, but not yet repurchased. The stock repurchase plan will expire when we have repurchased all shares authorized for repurchase thereunder, unless the stock repurchase plan is earlier terminated by action of our Board of Directors or further shares are authorized for repurchase.

(a)

Our stock repurchase plan, which was authorized by our Board of Directors, became effective on October 25, 2000, and included ten million shares. Since then, the Company has regularly repurchased shares under the stock repurchase plan, resulting in the Board of Directors periodically authorizing additional shares for repurchase under the plan. On February 12, 2013, our Board of Directors authorized another increase in the number of shares, pursuant to which the Company is now permitted to repurchase up to a maximum of fifteen million shares under the plan, including those shares previously authorized, but not yet repurchased. The stock repurchase plan will expire when we have repurchased all shares authorized for repurchase thereunder, unless the stock repurchase plan is earlier terminated by action of our Board of Directors or further shares are authorized for repurchase.


(b)	In the second quarter of 2014, we paid $100 million pursuant to the terms of an accelerated share repurchase agreement and we received an initial delivery of 1,193,317 shares. Under the terms of the agreement, in the fourth quarter of 2014 the accelerated share repurchase agreement was completed and we received a final settlement of 223,185 shares. The Average Price Paid Per Share reported herein is generally based on the daily Rule 10b-18 volume-weighted average prices of the Company’s common stock during the term of the agreement.

(b)

In the second quarter of 2014, we paid $100 million pursuant to the terms of an accelerated share repurchase agreement and we received an initial delivery of 1,193,317 shares. Under the terms of the agreement, in the fourth quarter of 2014 the accelerated share repurchase agreement was completed and we received a final settlement of 223,185 shares. The Average Price Paid Per Share reported herein is generally based on the daily Rule 10b-18 volume-weighted average prices of the Company’s common stock during the term of the agreement.

The information required by Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K is contained in our definitive Proxy Statement for our 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, or the Proxy Statement, and is incorporated herein by reference.

Stock Performance Graph

The graph below shows the cumulative total shareholder return assuming the investment of $100 in our common stock on December 31, 2009 and the reinvestment of all dividends thereafter. The information contained in the graph below is furnished and therefore not to be considered “filed” with the SEC, and is not incorporated by reference into any document that incorporates this Annual Report on Form 10-K by reference.



Albemarle Corporation and Subsidiaries

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