ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 8,535 Shares of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) by 36.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,681 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,535 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Whole Foods Market were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AT Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of Whole Foods Market during the second quarter worth $118,000. Winslow Evans & Crocker Inc. boosted its position in shares of Whole Foods Market by 169.1% in the second quarter. Winslow Evans & Crocker Inc. now owns 3,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Whole Foods Market during the first quarter worth $105,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Whole Foods Market by 406.4% in the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 3,320 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Brothers Inc. MA acquired a new position in shares of Whole Foods Market during the second quarter worth $190,000. 86.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM) opened at 41.73 on Friday. Whole Foods Market, Inc. has a one year low of $27.67 and a one year high of $43.84. The firm has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.85 and a 200-day moving average of $35.72.

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 company 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 for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Whole Foods Market, Inc. will post $1.33 EPS for the current year.

Whole Foods Market announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WFM. BidaskClub cut shares of Whole Foods Market from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. SunTrust Banks, Inc. cut shares of Whole Foods Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Tigress Financial cut shares of Whole Foods Market from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Whole Foods Market in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Whole Foods Market from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Saturday, June 17th. Four equities research 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’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.06.

In related news, insider Angela Lorenzen sold 1,431 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total transaction of $52,002.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,100.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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