Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,705 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,117,000 after acquiring an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $258,797,000 after purchasing an additional 14,874 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albemarle by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Albemarle by 28.7% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,839,000 after buying an additional 157,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 67.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of ALB opened at $88.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of -5.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 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 Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.58.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’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 value of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ALB. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.71.

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.