Meeder Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 1,022 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after purchasing an additional 56,161 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position 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 valued at $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,113,000.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,741,491.26. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,784 shares of company stock worth $13,534,466 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $155.25 on Wednesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.61 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $152.20 and a 200-day moving average of $138.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.29, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for 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, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.00.

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.