Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,887 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.24% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $11,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 831 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth $3,315,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 52.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,459,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,478,000 after purchasing an additional 505,028 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,321,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,573,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SFM. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total transaction of $240,441.65. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at $518,084.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total transaction of $240,441.65. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at $518,084.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 5,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total transaction of $329,851.86. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $671,349.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,852 shares of company stock worth $10,032,745. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $65.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.10. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.12 and a 1 year high of $66.18.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 26.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.