Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.37.
WFM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Vetr downgraded shares of Whole Foods Market from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.47 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 6th. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. downgraded shares of Whole Foods Market from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Jaffray Cos. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Whole Foods Market in a research report on Sunday, June 12th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Whole Foods Market in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Whole Foods Market in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.06.
In other Whole Foods Market news, Director Morris J. Siegel sold 6,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.32, for a total value of $200,060.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,865.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mark T. Dixon sold 3,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.65, for a total value of $92,103.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165,418.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 29th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%.
Whole Foods Market, Inc is engaged in operating natural and organic foods supermarkets. The Company’s brands include Allegro Coffee, Whole Foods Market, Whole Paws and Engine 2 Plant-Strong. As of April 10, 2016, the Company operated 441 stores, which include 421 stores in 42 states in the United States and the District of Columbia, 11 stores in Canada, and 9 stores in the United Kingdom.
