FNY Investment Advisers LLC Sells 800 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

FNY Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $310,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $262,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 5,152 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,801 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer dropped 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.65.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $92.71 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.53 and a beta of 1.58. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $143.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $98.55 and a 200-day moving average of $93.89.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.67%.

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 that occurred on 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 $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.