South Dakota Investment Council Boosts Stock Holdings in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD)

South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD - Free Report) by 16.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,609 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,900 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in US Foods were worth $2,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of US Foods by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,304,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,369,000 after purchasing an additional 292,404 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of US Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $211,300,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of US Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $171,107,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of US Foods by 1.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of US Foods by 25.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 98.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at US Foods

In other US Foods news, EVP Dirk J. Locascio sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 115,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,630,775. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

US Foods Trading Down 1.3%

USFD stock traded down $1.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $82.88. The company had a trading volume of 674,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,196,035. US Foods Holding Corp. has a 52 week low of $50.49 and a 52 week high of $85.11. The company has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.19 and a 200 day moving average of $71.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.01). US Foods had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 1.38%. The company had revenue of $9.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. US Foods's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USFD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of US Foods from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of US Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $89.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of US Foods in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of US Foods from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of US Foods from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.42.

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.