Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth $26,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth $36,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $53,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,718 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total value of $440,686.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 256,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,785,102.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,718 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total value of $440,686.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 256,716 shares in the company, valued at $19,785,102.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 56,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $5,680,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,096 shares of company stock worth $10,358,446 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ SFM traded up $0.92 on Friday, reaching $96.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 277,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,354,662. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $103.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.38.

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.