American Century Companies Inc. Sells 299,965 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 27.1%, now owning approximately 0.83% of the company, valued at about $123 million.
• Several hedge funds have altered their stakes in Sprouts, with significant increases from firms like Russell Investments Group Ltd. (up 124.0% this quarter) and Prudential PLC (up 73.6%).
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Sprouts Farmers Market, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and average price target of $172.20, following adjustments by firms like Jefferies and Barclays.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 27.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 807,774 shares of the company's stock after selling 299,965 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.83% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $123,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,618,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 100,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,728,000 after acquiring an additional 24,364 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 12,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anderson Hoagland & Co. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,866,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.73.

Insider Activity

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 10,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total transaction of $1,475,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,461.48. The trade was a 35.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total transaction of $328,760.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $2,180,171.94. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,589 shares of company stock valued at $8,926,483. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $148.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,322,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,002. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $158.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.39. The stock has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.78. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.25 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for 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 last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 19th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.