Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,824,226 shares of the company’s stock after selling 319,792 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.70% of Albertsons Companies worth $754,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $312,510,000. Segantii Capital Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd now owns 4,125,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,880,000 after acquiring an additional 790,207 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 88.4% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 1,504,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,598,000 after purchasing an additional 705,861 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,404,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,305,000 after buying an additional 692,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 116.2% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,117,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,434,000 after acquiring an additional 600,653 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

In other Albertsons Companies news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $2,035,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,433,793.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Albertsons Companies news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $2,035,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 365,297 shares in the company, valued at $7,433,793.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total value of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,877.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $19.56 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.47 and a 1 year high of $23.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The company had revenue of $18.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.40 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 68.02%. Analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.52%.

Albertsons Companies Company Profile

Albertsons Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company's food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in stores.