Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 68.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,027,517 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,183,717 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.18% of Albertsons Companies worth $20,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company's stock worth $713,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company's stock worth $513,596,000 after acquiring an additional 9,308,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company's stock worth $186,211,000 after acquiring an additional 428,506 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,465,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,848 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Albertsons Companies

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ACI. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.36.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 1.4%

ACI stock opened at $21.80 on Tuesday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.52.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 36.59%.

About Albertsons Companies

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.

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