Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,568,327 shares of the company's stock after selling 301,033 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.63% of United Natural Foods worth $206,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in United Natural Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $324,000. Amundi grew its position in United Natural Foods by 368.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 62,830 shares of the company's stock worth $1,813,000 after buying an additional 49,427 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of United Natural Foods by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,383,733 shares of the company's stock worth $40,094,000 after purchasing an additional 34,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in United Natural Foods by 118.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,937 shares of the company's stock worth $2,993,000 after buying an additional 96,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of United Natural Foods in the 4th quarter worth $656,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.63% of the company's stock.

United Natural Foods Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of UNFI stock traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $23.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 898,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,893. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $8.58 and a one year high of $34.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.16 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $28.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.70.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.04. United Natural Foods had a negative net margin of 0.30% and a positive return on equity of 1.27%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNFI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. CL King upgraded United Natural Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on United Natural Foods from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised United Natural Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.50.

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.