Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Acquired by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,022 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Community Trust NA lifted its stake in Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Albemarle by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price 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 upped their target price on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp reduced 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.95.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $79.98 on Thursday. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $143.19. The company has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.01.

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.