Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 7,262 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,023 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 7,262 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 606.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.68.

Albemarle Price Performance

ALB stock opened at $81.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $86.56 and a 200-day moving average of $92.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 45.02 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle 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.