Unified Investment Management Decreases Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Unified Investment Management trimmed its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 20.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,261 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,874 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for approximately 1.3% of Unified Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Unified Investment Management's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.6% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 94,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,461,000 after buying an additional 5,832 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 26,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 6,550 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 33,721 shares of the company's stock worth $5,147,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,281,098.42. This represents a 55.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total transaction of $3,395,225.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,325,562.50. The trade was a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,905 shares of company stock valued at $11,661,251. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SFM. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded down $2.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.10. 1,759,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,555,291. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81. 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 52 week low of $79.34 and a 52 week high of $182.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $165.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.08.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 34.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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.