Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd significantly reduced its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. by 93.5% in the first quarter, leaving it with only 293 shares worth $45,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Renaissance Technologies LLC and Invesco Ltd., have increased their positions in Sprouts Farmers Market, showing interest in the stock despite Harvest Fund's sell-off.
• Analysts generally maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating for Sprouts Farmers Market, with target prices ranging notably, including a recent high of $190.00 from Jefferies Financial Group.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lowered its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 93.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 293 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,195 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $45,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 164.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 91,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,591,000 after buying an additional 56,670 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 259,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,925,000 after buying an additional 93,734 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $162,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $431,000. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $5,623,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.2%

SFM stock traded up $1.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $151.02. 839,433 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,742,157. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.42 and a 1 year high of $182.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $163.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.60.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.16, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,241.68. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,472,135.60. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 63,743 shares of company stock valued at $10,436,153. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.