Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Sells 166 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC trimmed its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also 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. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 71.5% in 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. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 28.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after acquiring an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 32.4% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 127,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 28.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,067,000 after acquiring an additional 93,718 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $75.07 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.71. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $143.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ALB shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

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.