Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,064 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,042 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $5,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 267.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 35,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 25,879 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 77,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 7,252 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $215,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $26,049.99. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,377.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total value of $240,441.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at $518,084.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $26,049.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,377.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 160,852 shares of company stock worth $10,032,745. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM traded down $1.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,694,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,966. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $62.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.27. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.12 and a 12-month high of $68.03. The stock has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.71% and a net margin of 3.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.