Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 87,290 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. reduced its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 84.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,025 shares of the company's stock after selling 87,290 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 1,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $192,532.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,165.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total value of $668,465.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,462,030.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 1,904 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $192,532.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,165.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,939 shares of company stock worth $12,571,295 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.83. 1,537,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,351,194. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $94.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.53. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.50 and a fifty-two week high of $107.90. 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 capitalization of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 27.53% and a net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.22.

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.