Arjuna Capital Decreases Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Arjuna Capital reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 11.5%, selling 3,582 shares and maintaining 27,670 shares, which is now 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Marshall Wace LLP and Invesco Ltd., increased their holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market during the last quarter.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $171.87 for Sprouts Farmers Market, with nine analysts rating the stock as a "buy" and seven as "hold."

Arjuna Capital cut its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,670 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,582 shares during the period. Sprouts Farmers Market comprises approximately 1.2% of Arjuna Capital's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Arjuna Capital's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $4,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SFM. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company's stock worth $23,046,000 after purchasing an additional 37,637 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $270,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock worth $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $2,618,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 100,165 shares of the company's stock worth $12,728,000 after purchasing an additional 24,364 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFM traded down $0.22 on Monday, reaching $148.77. 332,889 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,731,207. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.68 and a 52 week high of $182.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.82.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.45, for a total transaction of $650,464.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,037,033. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 2,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $440,755.59. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,250,149.58. The trade was a 16.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,725 shares of company stock worth $11,511,003 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.