Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $146.62 Million Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,465,449 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,294,848 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.29% of Albertsons Companies worth $146,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,211,000 after acquiring an additional 428,506 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,213,000 after acquiring an additional 141,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,384,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,465,000 after purchasing an additional 522,926 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI opened at $21.95 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.76. The firm has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.