Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Edge Capital Group LLC

Edge Capital Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 406 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund purchased a new position in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $491,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $121,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $81.26 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.26, a PEG ratio of 45.02 and a beta of 1.59. 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 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $143.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.23.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ALB shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.