Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Holdings Boosted by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0%, owning 176,618 shares valued at $26.96 million at the end of the latest reporting period.
• Sprouts Farmers Market reported $1.35 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.23, and showing a revenue increase of 17.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Sprouts Farmers Market, with an average target price of $171.53, reflecting positive sentiment on the stock's potential performance.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,618 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,096 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.18% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $26,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,350,000 after buying an additional 1,346,097 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,946,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 18,234.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 358,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,683,000 after purchasing an additional 356,292 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 204.7% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 289,929 shares of the company's stock worth $36,841,000 after buying an additional 194,792 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 0.0%

SFM stock traded up $0.04 on Thursday, hitting $150.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 815,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,741,222. The stock has a market cap of $14.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.55. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.15 and a 1 year high of $182.00.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. The company 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%. Sprouts Farmers Market's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total transaction of $3,395,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,325,562.50. The trade was a 26.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 70,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,511,003. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.