Robeco Schweiz AG Decreases Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Robeco Schweiz AG reduced its stake in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 822,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 201,395 shares during the quarter. Albemarle makes up about 1.5% of Robeco Schweiz AG’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Robeco Schweiz AG owned about 0.70% of Albemarle worth $70,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. Quarry LP increased its position in Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 606.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albemarle 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 research report on Thursday, February 13th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.68.

Albemarle Stock Performance

ALB opened at $77.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.93 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $85.92 and its 200 day moving average is $92.10. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $143.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

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.