LS Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,275 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Whole Foods Market were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Whole Foods Market by 1.6% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 143,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,265,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft MBH raised its position in shares of Whole Foods Market by 16.8% in the first quarter. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft MBH now owns 512,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,938,000 after buying an additional 73,498 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Whole Foods Market by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 37,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Whole Foods Market during the first quarter worth about $383,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Whole Foods Market by 52.5% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 17,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 6,044 shares during the period. 86.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM) remained flat at $41.73 during midday trading on Friday. 2,316,383 shares of the company traded hands. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.85 and its 200-day moving average is $35.72. The company has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.37 and a beta of 0.82. Whole Foods Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.67 and a 1-year high of $43.84.
Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Whole Foods Market had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Whole Foods Market, Inc. will post $1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Whole Foods Market announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
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A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WFM shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Whole Foods Market from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Whole Foods Market in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Whole Foods Market from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Vetr downgraded shares of Whole Foods Market from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $35.59 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Whole Foods Market from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.06.
In other news, insider Angela Lorenzen sold 1,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total transaction of $52,002.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,100.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Whole Foods Market Company Profile
Whole Foods Market, Inc is engaged in the business of natural and organic foods supermarket. The Company operates approximately 456 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its stores have an average size of approximately 39,000 square feet, and are supported by its distribution centers, bake house facilities, commissary kitchens, seafood-processing facilities, a produce procurement center, and a specialty coffee and tea procurement and roasting operation, among others.
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