First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,020 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,041 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.09% of US Foods worth $14,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of USFD. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in US Foods by 5.4% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 348,979 shares of the company's stock worth $21,462,000 after buying an additional 17,897 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of US Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $357,000. Longbow Finance SA purchased a new position in shares of US Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,001,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of US Foods by 121.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 6,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in US Foods in the fourth quarter worth $413,000. 98.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

US Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:USFD traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.40. The company had a trading volume of 698,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,980,234. The company has a market cap of $15.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.80. US Foods Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $50.05 and a 12-month high of $73.19.

US Foods (NYSE:USFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). US Foods had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $9.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.47 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David W. Bullock bought 4,000 shares of US Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.06 per share, with a total value of $284,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,770. This trade represents a 800.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on USFD. StockNews.com lowered shares of US Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on US Foods from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on US Foods from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of US Foods in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of US Foods from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.83.

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.