Prudential PLC Has $11.73 Million Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has significantly increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 73.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately $11.7 million worth of shares.
• Multiple institutional investors have also ramped up their investments in Sprouts Farmers Market, with Whipplewood Advisors LLC increasing its stake by 92% in the same period.
• Sprouts Farmers Market reported quarterly earnings of $1.35 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.23, and achieved a 17.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Prudential PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 73.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,820 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,572 shares during the period. Prudential PLC owned 0.08% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $11,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock worth $225,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,097 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at about $106,852,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,699,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,946,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 18,234.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 358,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,683,000 after buying an additional 356,292 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM traded down $2.77 on Thursday, reaching $143.41. 1,572,502 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,596,808. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $159.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.62. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.25 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The company has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SFM. Barclays raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.20.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market 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 sale, the insider directly owned 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $2,180,171.94. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 2,937 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $440,755.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,250,149.58. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,504 shares of company stock valued at $9,574,851. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.