Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Lowers Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 73.4% in the first quarter, selling 765,613 shares and retaining only 277,501 shares, valued at approximately $42.36 million.
• Despite the stake reduction by Price T Rowe, other institutional investors, such as Sowell Financial Services and Caisse DE Depot, have begun new positions, indicating mixed institutional sentiment towards Sprouts Farmers Market.
• Sprouts Farmers Market reported $1.35 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 17.3% year over year.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 73.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,501 shares of the company's stock after selling 765,613 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.28% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $42,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at about $270,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,618,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 24,364 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 12,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 2,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,866,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $144.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.67. The company has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.78. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.05 and a 1 year high of $182.00.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business's revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SFM. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group set a $180.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 price target on the stock. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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, August 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $173.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,800. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.76, for a total transaction of $634,094.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,392,242.40. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,319 shares of company stock worth $5,531,258. 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.

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