Assetmark Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, owning 891,359 shares worth approximately $136 million.
• Insider transactions included CEO Jack Sinclair selling 4,045 shares for around $659,092, decreasing his ownership by 2.26%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Sprouts Farmers Market, with a target price around $168.20.

Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 891,359 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,451 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.91% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $136,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,899 shares of the company's stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at about $292,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at about $958,000. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 67,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,255,000 after buying an additional 2,769 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 0.7%

SFM traded down $1.08 on Monday, reaching $160.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,158. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $164.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.77. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.24 and a fifty-two week high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.45, for a total value of $650,464.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,037,033. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total value of $388,731.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,380,367. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SFM. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $173.00 price objective (up from $172.00) on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.20.

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.