The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. $CHEF Holdings Trimmed by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 612,536 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,592 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 1.50% of Chefs’ Warehouse worth $36,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CHEF. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Chefs’ Warehouse by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,930,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,656,000 after acquiring an additional 318,942 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 2,871.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 251,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,668,000 after purchasing an additional 242,917 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 117,849.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 231,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,744,000 after purchasing an additional 230,985 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Chefs’ Warehouse by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,104,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,864,000 after purchasing an additional 173,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Chefs’ Warehouse during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,142,000. 91.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Down 1.5%

Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $95.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.20 and a 1-year high of $102.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.10 and a beta of 1.39.

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.17. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Chefs’ Warehouse’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christina Polychroni sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.21, for a total value of $356,445.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 24,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,892.82. This trade represents a 15.44% 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. Also, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 125,000 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $9,750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,189,453 shares in the company, valued at $170,777,334. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 11.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark increased their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley cut Chefs’ Warehouse from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $97.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chefs’ Warehouse presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.86.

Chefs’ Warehouse Company Profile

Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor that supplies a broad range of high‐end ingredients and culinary products to professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, and other foodservice operators. Headquartered in Maspeth, New York, the company sources its portfolio from local artisans, boutique producers and leading global suppliers. Its core offerings include fresh and frozen proteins, specialty cuts of meat and seafood, handcrafted cheeses and charcuterie, seasonal produce, value‐added preparations, pantry staples and premium desserts and beverages.

The company operates a network of distribution centers strategically located in major metropolitan markets across North America.