Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. Sells 160 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. reduced its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $49,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Albemarle by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.65.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Albemarle stock opened at $94.30 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $143.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $98.38 and its 200 day moving average is $93.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is currently -9.67%.

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.