Carnegie Investment Counsel Buys Shares of 6,504 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel has acquired 6,504 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., worth approximately $958,000, signaling growing interest in the stock.
• Insider transactions included CEO Jack Sinclair selling 4,045 shares, reducing his ownership by 2.26%, while various institutional investors have also adjusted their stakes in the company.
• Analysts have upgraded the stock, with Wall Street Zen moving it from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, as well as multiple target price increases, reflecting positive sentiment around the company's future performance.

Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $958,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,041 shares of the company's stock worth $18,049,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 160,522 shares of the company's stock worth $20,398,000 after acquiring an additional 51,782 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,554,000 after acquiring an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 47,649 shares of the company's stock worth $6,055,000 after acquiring an additional 24,567 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 5,160 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.94, for a total transaction of $659,092.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,472,135.60. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.16, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,437,241.68. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $173.00 target price for the company. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.20.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $161.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.24 and a 1 year high of $182.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $164.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.73.

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

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

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.

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