Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 64,599 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.9%, selling 64,599 shares to retain approximately 436,275 shares valued at $66.6 million.
• Insider trading activity included Director Joe Fortunato selling 2,000 shares and COO Nicholas Konat selling 20,270 shares, indicating a combined decrease in ownership of 6.63% and 26.69%, respectively.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Sprouts Farmers Market, with Evercore ISI and Barclays increasing their targets to $185, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 12.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 436,275 shares of the company's stock after selling 64,599 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.45% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $66,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,046,000 after acquiring an additional 37,637 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at about $270,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,618,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 100,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,728,000 after acquiring an additional 24,364 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 2,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.74, for a total value of $333,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,065.36. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total transaction of $3,395,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,325,562.50. This represents a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,743 shares of company stock worth $10,769,633 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.53.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of SFM stock opened at $154.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $163.73 and a 200-day moving average of $158.31. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.36 and a 12-month high of $182.00. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.78.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

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.

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