LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys 4,856 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.5%, adding 4,856 shares to its holdings, which are now valued at approximately $3.82 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services and UMB Bank, also increased their positions in Sprouts Farmers Market, indicating growing interest in the stock.
• Analyst ratings for Sprouts Farmers Market show a consensus of "Moderate Buy", with multiple analysts raising their price targets significantly throughout the year.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 26.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,200 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,856 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. MRA Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $555,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 248.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 104.3% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.21.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $105.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.77. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.40 and a 1 year high of $182.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $136.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.86.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 651 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total transaction of $92,168.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,590,651.30. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total value of $1,475,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,461.48. This trade represents a 35.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,561 shares of company stock worth $5,499,641. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.