Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Acquires 36,396 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during Q1, owning a total of 272,776 shares worth approximately $41.6 million.
• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. saw a 1,033.4% increase in its stake, now holding 1,476,351 shares valued at $225.4 million.
• Analysts have given Sprouts Farmers Market a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $172.20, while the stock recently experienced a decline of 1.9%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 272,776 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,396 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.28% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $41,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on 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. UBS Group set a $180.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $172.20.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $2.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $145.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,386,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,612,717. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.62. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $95.25 and a one year high of $182.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 10,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total transaction of $1,475,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,680,461.48. The trade was a 35.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $3,395,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,325,562.50. This represents a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,504 shares of company stock valued at $9,407,691 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.