Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 60.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,170 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,445 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SFM. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company's stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company's stock worth $3,896,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, JT Stratford LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the company's stock worth $1,409,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on SFM shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.16, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,241.68. This 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 through the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total value of $328,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,180,171.94. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $0.98 on Friday, hitting $159.70. The company had a trading volume of 832,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,566,933. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.41 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $164.31 and a 200 day moving average of $155.44. The company has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 35.89, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.77.

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

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.