Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Clear Creek Financial Management LLC

Clear Creek Financial Management LLC decreased its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,970 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 414 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALB. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,619 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 16,675 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the fourth quarter worth $85,570,000. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 57,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,940,000 after purchasing an additional 4,712 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ALB shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $83.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.01, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.27. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

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.