Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Lowers Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC cut its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,186,313 shares of the company’s stock after selling 819,791 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Albertsons Companies worth $42,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth $298,302,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,875 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,465,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,848 shares during the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth $23,678,000. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 973.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 1,190,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,994,000 after buying an additional 1,079,246 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The firm has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.76.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

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.