Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,813 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,679 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.08% of United Natural Foods worth $787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in United Natural Foods by 12.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,584 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,506 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 85.7% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 18.6% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 15,008 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its position in United Natural Foods by 46.3% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on UNFI shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.60.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNFI traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.20. The stock had a trading volume of 547,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 700,839. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.32 and a beta of 0.64. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.58 and a 12-month high of $32.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.68 and a 200-day moving average of $18.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.48.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.18. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 1.27% and a negative net margin of 0.30%. The business had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. United Natural Foods's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Natural Foods

In other news, insider Danielle Benedict sold 9,050 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $200,005.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,949,617.80. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

United Natural Foods Company Profile

United Natural Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes natural, organic, specialty, produce, and conventional grocery and non-food products in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The company offers grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, wellness and personal care items, and bulk and foodservice products.