M&G PLC Takes Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

M&G PLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 64,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,632,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,481,000 after purchasing an additional 15,930 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,331,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,191,000 after buying an additional 36,548 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 300.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,037,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,316,000 after acquiring an additional 778,079 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 997,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,205,000 after acquiring an additional 10,059 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% in the first quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 971,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,271,000 after acquiring an additional 28,595 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $82.12 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.75 and a twelve month high of $182.00. The company has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $108.54 and its 200 day moving average is $141.89.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 38.83% and a net margin of 5.93%.The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.240-5.280 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.860-0.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 19th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.60, for a total value of $560,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,218,964. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kim Coffin sold 651 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.58, for a total transaction of $92,168.58. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,590,651.30. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,447 shares of company stock worth $2,800,812. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $148.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.86.

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.