Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 260.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 24,644 shares valued at about $1.96 million.
• Sprouts reported solid quarterly results, posting $1.71 EPS versus the $1.67 estimate and revenue of $2.33 billion, while also raising its FY 2026 EPS guidance to 5.320-5.480.
• Market sentiment remains mixed: the stock was down 1.2% on the day, analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” and insiders sold shares over the past three months, including CEO Jack Sinclair.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 260.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,644 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,812 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,913,415 shares of the company's stock worth $789,802,000 after buying an additional 28,951 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,584,923 shares of the company's stock worth $425,582,000 after buying an additional 1,494,014 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,323,216 shares of the company's stock worth $186,647,000 after buying an additional 653,206 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 652.7% during the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,411,246 shares of the company's stock worth $153,544,000 after buying an additional 1,223,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,394,724 shares of the company's stock worth $151,746,000 after buying an additional 172,256 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $85.63 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.78. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.68. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.75 and a fifty-two week high of $182.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 36.06%. The firm's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.320-5.480 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.320-1.360 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SFM shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $104.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $96.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 9,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $824,192.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,822.31. This represents a 40.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 57,644 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.82, for a total transaction of $4,658,788.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 277,935 shares in the company, valued at $22,462,706.70. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 130,156 shares of company stock valued at $10,600,146 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc NASDAQ: SFM is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the company operates stores designed to offer an open-market shopping experience, emphasizing quality produce sourced from regional farmers alongside organic pantry staples, dairy, meat and seafood. Sprouts' product assortment also includes bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, a deli and prepared foods, reflecting its commitment to wellness and affordable healthy living.

Founded in 2002 by members of the Boney family, Sprouts began as a single farmers market in Chandler, Arizona.

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