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

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during 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 buying an additional 20,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 14,874 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 741,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,827,000 after purchasing an additional 35,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.68.

Albemarle Stock Performance

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

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.