Legal & General Group Plc Sells 34,651 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,651 shares and leaving it with 174,326 shares valued at about $13.9 million.
• Sprouts Farmers Market posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $1.71 per share versus estimates of $1.67 and revenue of $2.33 billion, up 4.1% from a year earlier.
• Despite the earnings beat, insider selling and mixed analyst sentiment remain notable: CEO Jack Sinclair and COO Nicholas Konat both sold shares, and Wall Street currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” with a $96.08 target price.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,326 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,651 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.18% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $13,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 77.7% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,713,000 after buying an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.0% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,882 shares of the company's stock worth $3,767,000 after buying an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 64.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the company's stock worth $1,896,000 after buying an additional 4,492 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $78.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.95. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.75 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.06% and a net margin of 5.70%.The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.320-5.480 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.320-1.360 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $122.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $104.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 57,644 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.82, for a total transaction of $4,658,788.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 277,935 shares in the company, valued at $22,462,706.70. This trade represents a 17.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 10,123 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.82, for a total transaction of $818,140.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 80,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,476,833.98. This trade represents a 11.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 130,156 shares of company stock worth $10,600,146 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc NASDAQ: SFM is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the company operates stores designed to offer an open-market shopping experience, emphasizing quality produce sourced from regional farmers alongside organic pantry staples, dairy, meat and seafood. Sprouts' product assortment also includes bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, a deli and prepared foods, reflecting its commitment to wellness and affordable healthy living.

Founded in 2002 by members of the Boney family, Sprouts began as a single farmers market in Chandler, Arizona.

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