Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 56,652 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $1,347,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $148.31 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.61 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $151.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 39.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. Equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.25, for a total transaction of $140,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,486,369.50. This trade represents a 8.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,595.12. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 94,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,231,786. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.