Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,585 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 783 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 38.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted 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. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Albemarle by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,395,000 after purchasing an additional 127,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Albemarle by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after purchasing an additional 93,718 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.95.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $82.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.66 and a 200 day moving average of $93.11. The firm has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of -4.92, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19.

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.