Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Stock Holdings Lessened by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,791 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $6,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after buying an additional 36,154 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 19.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 108,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 17,902 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 37.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 24,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 6,770 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 11,884 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ACI stock opened at $21.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $21.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

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.