Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 174,326 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,651 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $13,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,913,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,802,000 after purchasing an additional 28,951 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,584,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,014 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,323,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,647,000 after purchasing an additional 653,206 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 652.7% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,411,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,544,000 after buying an additional 1,223,753 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 14.1% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,394,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,746,000 after buying an additional 172,256 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on SFM shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $104.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Friday, March 27th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $122.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.97, for a total value of $26,282.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 23,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,959,188.04. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 406 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.04, for a total value of $33,308.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $557,954.04. This represents a 5.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,156 shares of company stock valued at $10,600,146. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM opened at $78.05 on Wednesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.75 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.95.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 36.06%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.320-5.480 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.320-1.360 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the company operates stores designed to offer an open-market shopping experience, emphasizing quality produce sourced from regional farmers alongside organic pantry staples, dairy, meat and seafood. Sprouts’ product assortment also includes bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, a deli and prepared foods, reflecting its commitment to wellness and affordable healthy living.

Founded in 2002 by members of the Boney family, Sprouts began as a single farmers market in Chandler, Arizona.