Sanctuary Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,749 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 15.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $143.32 on Monday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $148.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.10. 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 cap of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 38.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.