Rothschild Investment LLC Sells 905 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Rothschild Investment LLC cut its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 905 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,839,000 after purchasing an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $81.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.56 and its 200 day moving average is $92.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.95. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Albemarle from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.68.

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.