Old North State Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,113 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $1,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $96,660,000 after purchasing an additional 282,194 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albemarle by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 28.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 705,719 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $66,839,000 after buying an additional 157,319 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 521,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 127,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Albemarle by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 423,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,067,000 after acquiring an additional 93,718 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALB. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.95.

Albemarle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $82.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.92, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.59. Albemarle Co. has a 12 month low of $71.97 and a 12 month high of $143.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Albemarle Company 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.