Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Grows Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,570,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Albemarle by 9,108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,440,000 after purchasing an additional 568,563 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after purchasing an additional 264,756 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 7,667.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 163,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $155,000,000 after purchasing an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $75.76 on Wednesday. Albemarle Co. has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $143.19. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $90.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59.

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.