Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Has $335,000 Stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its position in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,893 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. increased its position in Albemarle by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 2,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Albemarle by 606.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Beech Hill Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Albemarle during the 4th quarter worth about $1,952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ALB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.65.

Albemarle Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $88.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.44. Albemarle Co. has a 52-week low of $71.97 and a 52-week high of $143.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.64. The firm has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.30, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.58.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.