Trek Financial LLC Lowers Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Trek Financial LLC trimmed its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 39.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,219 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,592 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $4,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company's stock worth $567,322,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock worth $234,231,000 after acquiring an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,097 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $159.75. 1,139,640 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,567,058. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.90, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.95. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $79.34 and a one year high of $182.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $164.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.04.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total transaction of $388,731.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,380,367. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total transaction of $2,851,131.69. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. The trade was a 55.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719. 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.