Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 84.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,045 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SFM. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $173.00 price objective (up previously from $172.00) on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, 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 value of $2,851,131.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,281,098.42. This trade represents a 55.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Insiders sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $164.40 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.54 and a 1-year high of $182.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.94, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $164.81 and its 200-day moving average is $157.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current 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.