Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,705 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 70.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its position in Albemarle by 392.6% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 6,309 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 165.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 39,623 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,785,000 after acquiring an additional 24,704 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Albemarle by 90.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 48,324 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 22,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 57.4% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Down 0.1 %

Albemarle stock opened at $88.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Company 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.