Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,035 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 65.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,035 shares during the quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 2,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albemarle Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:ALB opened at $88.71 on Friday. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.30, 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALB. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp reduced 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.