Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $2.53 Million Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,633 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,820 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,833,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,117,000 after purchasing an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,741,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $258,797,000 after buying an additional 14,874 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Albemarle by 38.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,020,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $96,660,000 after buying an additional 282,194 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,570,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after acquiring an additional 157,319 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Evercore ISI cut Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. 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. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Stock Performance

NYSE ALB opened at $77.30 on Monday. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19. The stock has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of -4.61, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. 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 fifty day moving average price is $91.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.83.

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.