Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys 257,534 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. by 268.8%, owning 353,357 shares valued at $7.77 million after acquiring an additional 257,534 shares.
• Albertsons Companies recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.00%, scheduled for payment on August 8th to stockholders of record.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Albertsons Companies, with price targets ranging from $19.00 to $28.00 based on various recent reports.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 268.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353,357 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 257,534 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.06% of Albertsons Companies worth $7,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ACI. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 296.5% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 473,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,302,000 after buying an additional 354,176 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 495.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 81,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 67,618 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the fourth 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 286,827 shares of the company's stock worth $5,633,000 after buying an additional 25,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 247,060 shares of the company's stock worth $4,852,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ACI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.06.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of ACI stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $19.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,057,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,916,548. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $21.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.24. The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.44. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

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

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 36.59%.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.35% of the company's stock.

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.