Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 142,041 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $18,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,117,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $18,259,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,926,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $148.31 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $61.61 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $151.60 and a 200-day moving average of $136.87. The stock has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. As a group, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SFM shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,231,786. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.