12,274 Shares in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Purchased by Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company's stock worth $43,138,000 after purchasing an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company's stock worth $20,646,000 after acquiring an additional 94,300 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,395,000 after purchasing an additional 36,154 shares in the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,999,000 after purchasing an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies in the third quarter worth $1,906,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,547,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,415,859. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $19.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $21.75. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. Albertsons Companies's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ACI shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.21.

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.