Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 17.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,388,320 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,410,778 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $164,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Norges Bank bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $320,613,000. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 34.4% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 10,578,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,901,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,510,000 after purchasing an additional 124,824 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 15.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,470,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,875,000 after buying an additional 741,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 3.5% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 3,918,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,611,000 after buying an additional 131,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

In related news, EVP Michael T. Theilmann sold 49,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.63, for a total transaction of $863,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 289,429 shares in the company, valued at $5,102,633.27. This trade represents a 14.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.21.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:ACI opened at $17.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.52. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $15.80 and a one year high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $19.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.18 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 38.00% and a net margin of 1.06%.Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.080-2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.71%.

Albertsons Companies Profile

Albertsons Companies, Inc (NYSE: ACI) is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, operating a diversified portfolio of grocery store banners. Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Its core business activities encompass the sale of fresh produce, meat, bakery items, deli offerings, pharmacy services, and general merchandise. The company’s retail operations are complemented by an in-house private-label program, featuring brands such as O Organics, Open Nature, and Lucerne, which cater to a range of customer preferences and price points.

Throughout its history, Albertsons Companies has pursued growth via mergers and partnerships.