Primecap Management Co. CA Boosts Stock Position in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in US Foods Holding Corp. by 194.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately 1.9 million shares valued at $127.1 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also modified their positions in US Foods, with 98.76% of the stock now held by hedge funds and other investors.
• Analysts have been optimistic about US Foods’ potential, with several firms raising their price targets, including UBS, which increased their target from $84.00 to $96.00.

Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD - Free Report) by 194.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,941,400 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,282,379 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.84% of US Foods worth $127,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in USFD. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in US Foods by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,136,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,119,000 after purchasing an additional 36,307 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in US Foods by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,029,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,905,000 after purchasing an additional 405,871 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in US Foods by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,636,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,371,000 after purchasing an additional 53,460 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in US Foods in the first quarter valued at about $91,087,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP grew its stake in US Foods by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 1,306,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,116,000 after purchasing an additional 31,228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at US Foods

In other US Foods news, EVP Dirk J. Locascio sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 115,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,630,775. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USFD has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on US Foods from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded US Foods from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on US Foods from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $89.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of US Foods in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $87.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of US Foods in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.82.

US Foods Stock Performance

Shares of US Foods stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $80.01. 3,547,409 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,785,058. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. US Foods Holding Corp. has a twelve month low of $50.49 and a twelve month high of $85.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.35.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About US Foods

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.