South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 46.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,674 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,314 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.45, for a total transaction of $650,464.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,037,033. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total value of $2,851,131.69. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,178 shares in the company, valued at $2,281,098.42. This trade represents a 55.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,035 shares of company stock worth $12,213,719 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $165.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.77. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.93 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $164.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $173.00 price objective (up from $172.00) on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.86.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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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