Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 25,674 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. by 18.6%, owning 112,673 shares after selling 25,674 shares in the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Albertsons have been mixed, with UBS upgrading the stock to a buy and increasing the price target to $27.00, while JPMorgan cut its target from $31.00 to $29.00.
• Albertsons recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with a payout ratio of 36.59%, signaling a 3.04% dividend yield for investors.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 18.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,673 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,674 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $2,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 35.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,573,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,566,000 after buying an additional 1,189,103 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4,247.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 933,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,532,000 after buying an additional 912,217 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the first quarter valued at about $1,819,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the first quarter valued at about $1,329,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ACI shares. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In related news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 directly owned 162,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:ACI traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.56. 2,139,690 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,163,071. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.44.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The business had revenue of $24.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is 36.59%.

Albertsons Companies 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.