DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $11.43 Million Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 132,787 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,988 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $11,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Quarry LP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. KeyCorp cut their target price on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $83.99 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.27. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of -5.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.