Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,438,292 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,157 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.29% of Albertsons Companies worth $163,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 78,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,717,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 47,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 24,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACI. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.20.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 1.5%

ACI stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $20.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,750,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,075,193. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.21.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The company had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.