Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Bought by Bristlecone Advisors LLC

Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,801,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Albemarle by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 2,527 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 39,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,372,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reduced their target price 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.14.

Albemarle Price Performance

NYSE ALB traded up $2.55 during trading on Thursday, hitting $79.15. 5,153,678 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,481,890. 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 cap of $9.30 billion, a PE ratio of -4.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $89.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.39.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 28.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.67%. Research analysts expect that Albemarle Co. will post -1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.