Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 357,744 Shares of US Foods Holding Corp. $USFD

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly reduced its stake in US Foods Holding Corp. by 81.1%, selling 357,744 shares and retaining just 83,474 shares valued at approximately $6.43 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently changed their stakes in US Foods, with Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increasing its holdings by over 32,000% to 109,535 shares valued at $8.44 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about US Foods, with ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Strong Buy" and target prices set from $81.27 to $96.00.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD - Free Report) by 81.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,474 shares of the company's stock after selling 357,744 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in US Foods were worth $6,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in US Foods in the second quarter valued at $221,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in US Foods by 32,403.0% in the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,435,000 after acquiring an additional 109,198 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new stake in US Foods in the second quarter valued at $223,000. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its holdings in US Foods by 0.4% in the second quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 231,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,821,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in US Foods by 18.1% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 49,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,863,000 after acquiring an additional 7,540 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on USFD shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $87.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of US Foods in a report on Friday, August 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of US Foods from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of US Foods from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $89.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of US Foods in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dirk J. Locascio sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 115,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,206,160. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

US Foods Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:USFD opened at $77.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.74 and a 200 day moving average of $74.03. The company has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. US Foods Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $57.36 and a 12-month high of $85.11.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. US Foods had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 1.43%.The company had revenue of $10.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. US Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.764-3.874 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

US Foods Company Profile

US Foods Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in marketing, sale, and distribution of fresh, frozen, and dry food and non-food products to foodservice customers in the United States. The company's customers include independently owned single and multi-unit restaurants, regional concepts, national restaurant chains, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and motels, country clubs, government and military organizations, colleges and universities, and retail locations.

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