Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 280,316 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 280,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,164,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,302,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,657,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 162,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 1.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACI. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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 set a $24.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $31.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.21.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.13. 4,407,682 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,969,747. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $21.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.44. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 41.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

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.