Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM) Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. cut its position in shares of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Whole Foods Market were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft MBH boosted 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. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Whole Foods Market during the first quarter worth $383,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted 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. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted 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 and hedge funds.

Shares of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) opened at 41.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.85 and a 200 day moving average of $35.72. Whole Foods Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.67 and a 52-week high of $43.84.

Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. Whole Foods Market had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 13.26%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Whole Foods Market, Inc. will post $1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whole Foods Market declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 10th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WFM shares. Credit Suisse Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Whole Foods Market in a report on Sunday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Whole Foods Market from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Vetr cut shares of Whole Foods Market from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $35.59 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Whole Foods Market from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Whole Foods Market from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.06.

In other Whole Foods Market news, insider Angela Lorenzen sold 1,431 shares of Whole Foods Market stock in a transaction on Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total value of $52,002.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,100.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.