Alpine Global Management LLC Trims Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Alpine Global Management LLC cut its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 62.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 125,000 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC's holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ACI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,347,875 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $513,596,000 after purchasing an additional 9,308,940 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $298,302,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 10,204,862 shares of the company's stock worth $200,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,981 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,211,000 after purchasing an additional 428,506 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total value of $1,015,122.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,488,730.74. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ACI traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.22. 1,030,345 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,615,524. The stock has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.64.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ACI shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.36.

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.