Becker Capital Management Inc. Sells 253,089 Shares of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO)

Becker Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO - Free Report) by 40.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,127 shares of the company's stock after selling 253,089 shares during the quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.38% of Grocery Outlet worth $5,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 1.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Grocery Outlet by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 116,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Grocery Outlet by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,671 shares of the company's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.87% of the company's stock.

Grocery Outlet Trading Down 1.3 %

Grocery Outlet stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,250,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,351,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.71 and a 200-day moving average of $15.92. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a one year low of $10.26 and a one year high of $26.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Christopher M. Miller purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $116,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $116,800. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steven K. Wilson sold 6,477 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.34, for a total value of $73,449.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,968,680.70. The trade was a 3.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,435,050 and sold 17,756 shares valued at $216,892. Insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Grocery Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $13.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Grocery Outlet from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Grocery Outlet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.46.

Grocery Outlet Profile

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates as a retailer of consumables and fresh products sold through independently operated stores in the United States. Its stores offer products in various categories, such as dairy and deli, produce, floral, fresh meat, seafood products, grocery, general merchandise, health and beauty care, frozen food, beer and wine, and ethnic products.