Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Lowers Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,325 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 593,600 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,107,000 after acquiring an additional 973,666 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 6,085 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,138,000 after acquiring an additional 28,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,561,000 after acquiring an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. This represents a 25.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 5,097 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.00, for a total transaction of $519,894.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,666,076. The trade was a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,148 shares of company stock valued at $5,853,826. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $147.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.52, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.27 and a 12 month high of $148.56.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 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.