Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $2.19 Million Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 649 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALB. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $85,570,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 9,108.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 574,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,440,000 after acquiring an additional 568,563 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $96,660,000 after acquiring an additional 282,194 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 67.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 658,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,333,000 after acquiring an additional 264,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 7,667.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 163,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $155,000,000 after acquiring an additional 161,552 shares in the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ALB shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Clarkson Capital started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial started coverage on Albemarle in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albemarle

In other news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of Albemarle stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALB opened at $75.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of -4.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.59. Albemarle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.97 and a fifty-two week high of $143.19.

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.