Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Purchased by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 66.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 381,168 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 152,359 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $48,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 67,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,428,000 after acquiring an additional 7,204 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 9,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 88.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 71,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,948,000 after buying an additional 33,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $18,259,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 96,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,534,466. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.4 %

SFM stock opened at $147.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.61 and a 52-week high of $178.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.72. The firm has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.17, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The company 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS 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.