Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 23,580 Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) by 18.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,580 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in United Natural Foods were worth $3,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in United Natural Foods by 88.3% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Natural Foods by 84.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Natural Foods during the second quarter valued at about $66,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 21.7% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of United Natural Foods by 56.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Natural Foods news, CAO Richard Eric Esper sold 4,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.08, for a total transaction of $140,953.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 37,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,166.52. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Louis Anthony Martin sold 9,439 shares of United Natural Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.67, for a total transaction of $327,250.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 81,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,816,382.78. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNFI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $40.00 price target on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Natural Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.78.

United Natural Foods Price Performance

United Natural Foods stock opened at $37.25 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.17. United Natural Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $20.78 and a one year high of $43.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of -22.44 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.91 billion. United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 4.35% and a negative net margin of 0.32%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. United Natural Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-2.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Natural Foods, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc (NYSE: UNFI) is a leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods in North America. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest food distributors serving retail, foodservice and e-commerce customers.

UNFI’s core business centers on the procurement, warehousing and distribution of a broad portfolio of products, including fresh produce, groceries, frozen foods, dairy, bakery items, beverages, supplements and household essentials.