Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 3,947 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 3,947 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Albemarle by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during 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. grew its stake in Albemarle by 38.2% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Albemarle by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after purchasing an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value 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. 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Truist Financial began coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

Albemarle Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE ALB opened at $75.76 on Wednesday. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $143.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.59. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of -4.52, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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.