New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 6,944 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,792 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,944 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $14,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SFM. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,872,000 after buying an additional 13,142 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 74,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,196,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 67.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3,347.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 164,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,188,000 after acquiring an additional 159,954 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,629.01. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 15.6 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $143.32 on Monday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 38.12, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $178.99.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during 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%. On average, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.40.

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.