17,760 Shares in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Bought by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 17,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,529,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter worth approximately $692,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter worth approximately $375,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 213.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,918 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.5 %

ALB stock opened at $81.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a PE ratio of -7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.05. 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 fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle Co. will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ALB. Clarkson Capital started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $127.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.68.

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 value of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.