Northern Trust Corp Reduces Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.5%, selling 47,258 shares, and now owns approximately 1.34% of the company, valued at $199.6 million.
• Insider transactions included CEO Jack Sinclair selling 4,054 shares for over $650,000, reducing his stake by 2.27%, while insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares, decreasing his position by 13.10%.
• Sprouts Farmers Market reported strong financial performance with a 17.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.22 billion and an EPS of $1.35, surpassing analysts' estimates.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,307,889 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,258 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.34% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $199,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12,100.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 244 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. 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 research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.73.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $3,395,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares in the company, valued at $9,325,562.50. This trade represents a 26.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total value of $1,475,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,589 shares of company stock worth $8,926,483. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 1.4%

SFM stock traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,731,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,770,014. The company has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.05 and a 12 month high of $182.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $158.13 and its 200-day moving average is $158.02.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.320 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 1.120-1.160 EPS. Analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 19th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.