Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) Shares Sold by MONECO Advisors LLC

MONECO Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,504 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $121,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,529,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 22,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $78.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $143.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $86.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.21. The company has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.01 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative net margin of 21.93% and a negative return on equity of 1.72%. As a group, analysts forecast that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALB. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $73.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.68.

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.