Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 54.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,614 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,012 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SFM. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $158.34 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.81 and a 52-week high of $160.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.63 and a 200 day moving average of $121.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $15.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,869 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,152 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.