Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 714,276 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,554 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Albertsons Companies worth $14,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company's stock worth $43,138,000 after buying an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company's stock worth $20,646,000 after buying an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% in the third quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company's stock worth $4,999,000 after buying an additional 109,901 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,906,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.21.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.81. 3,613,544 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,261,776. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.39. The company has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $21.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

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.