Arizona State Retirement System reduced its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: GDF – Get a rating) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company held 30,345 shares of the company after selling 389 shares during the period. The Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $970,000 when it was last filed with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently increased or reduced their stake in SFM. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings of Sprouts Farmers Market shares by 25.4% in the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 77,558 shares of the company valued at $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 15,712 shares last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 94,779 shares of the company valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 23,525 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 100,040 shares of the company valued at $2,969,000 after purchasing an additional 6,040 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during Q4 valued at $66,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings of Sprouts Farmers Market shares by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 19,203 shares of the company valued at $570,000 after acquiring 6,379 additional shares last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, an insider Giliam Phipps sold 2,364 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a trade on Friday, May 13. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.96, for a total value of $59,005.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,272 shares of the company, valued at approximately $705,669.12. The sale was disclosed in an SEC filing, available at the SEC website. In other news, Insider Giliam Phipps sold 2,364 shares of the company in a trade on Friday, May 13. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.96, for a total transaction of $59,005.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,272 shares of the company, valued at $705,669.12. The transaction was disclosed in an SEC filing, available at this hyperlink. Additionally, director Kristen E. Blum acquired 4,093 shares of the company in a transaction that took place on Monday, May 9. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.48 per share, with a total value of $100,196.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 40,573 shares of the company, valued at $993,227.04. Disclosure of this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,198 shares of the company worth $772,247 in the past 90 days. 0.71% of the shares are held by insiders.

Sprout Producer Market Stock Performance

SFM opened at $27.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.40 and its two-hundred-day moving average price is $28.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt ratio of 0.26. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.18 and a 12-month high of $35.34.

Cabbage growers market (NASDAQ: GDF – Get a rating) last reported quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 4. The company reported earnings per share of $0.79 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The company posted revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ estimates of $1.65 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market posted a return on equity of 25.65% and a net margin of 4.05%. Sprouts Farmers Market revenue for the quarter increased 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. In the same quarter last year, the company achieved EPS of $0.70. On average, stock analysts expect Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. to post earnings per share of 2.16 for the current year.

Changes to analyst ratings

Several analysts have recently released reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a Saturday, April 16 report. Bank of America downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut its price target for the stock from $40.00 to $25.00 in a research note from the Thursday, May 5. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reduced its price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a Tuesday, July 26 research note. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned the company’s stock a buy rating. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.83.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

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Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc offers fresh, natural and organic food products in the United States. The Company offers perishable product categories including fresh produce, meat, seafood, deli, bakery, floral and dairy, and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as groceries, vitamins and supplements, bulk goods, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health products and body care.

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