Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,740 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $5,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,144,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,026,000 after buying an additional 2,950,786 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,739,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 232.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,485,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,466 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,230,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,709,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,143,000 after buying an additional 865,554 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Roth Mkm raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $20.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.52. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.84 and a fifty-two week high of $23.88. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 21.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $2,035,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 365,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,433,793.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Albertsons Companies news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $2,035,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 365,297 shares in the company, valued at $7,433,793.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,877.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.