Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Has $10.02 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,055 shares during the quarter. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Albemarle worth $10,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ALB. Quarry LP increased its position in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during 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. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 50.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB stock opened at $81.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 45.02 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.93 and a 200 day moving average of $92.23. Albemarle Co. has a 1 year low of $71.97 and a 1 year high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Albemarle from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.68.

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.