Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. by 124%, owning 188,566 shares with a value of approximately $28.6 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors also made significant changes to their positions in Sprouts Farmers Market, indicating growing interest in the stock.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Sprouts Farmers Market, with various upgrade recommendations and target prices ranging from $172 to $190.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 124.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 188,566 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 104,385 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.19% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $28,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SFM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.73.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM traded up $3.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,253,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,905. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $158.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.44. The firm has a market cap of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.99, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.78. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.25 and a 52 week high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%.The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $3,395,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,325,562.50. The trade was a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,589 shares of company stock valued at $8,926,483 over the last ninety days. 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.