Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $3.37 Million Stock Holdings in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Albemarle by 606.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. First Community Trust NA increased its position in Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Albemarle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Albemarle

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,457,296.64. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.2 %

Albemarle stock opened at $77.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.81. Albemarle Co. has a 1-year low of $71.97 and a 1-year high of $143.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Albemarle from $79.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Albemarle in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Albemarle from $132.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albemarle has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.95.

About Albemarle

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.