AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 256,862 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,947 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $38,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SFM. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 901,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,509,000 after acquiring an additional 123,247 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 379,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,259,000 after acquiring an additional 34,436 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $793,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 63,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,069,000 after acquiring an additional 23,102 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 17,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of SFM stock traded up $3.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $137.45. 1,275,085 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,724,064. The company has a market capitalization of $13.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.86. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.59 and a 12-month high of $182.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $152.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. The firm 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%. The business's revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 19th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 14,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,250,149.58. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 18,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,461.48. This trade represents a 35.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,168 shares of company stock valued at $5,544,685. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SFM. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.73.

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.