Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Stake Reduced by SteelPeak Wealth LLC

SteelPeak Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB - Free Report) by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,012 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 9,502 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC's holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Albemarle by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 1,854 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC grew its holdings in Albemarle by 392.6% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 7,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 6,309 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 165.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 39,623 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 24,704 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 90.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 48,324 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 22,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albemarle by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial began coverage on Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.95.

Albemarle Price Performance

Albemarle stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $85.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,928,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,152,481. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $143.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $95.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of -5.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle 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.