Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases 6,141 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 600.9% in Q1, now owning 7,163 shares valued at $1,093,000.
• Sprouts Farmers Market reported earnings per share of $1.81 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.54, with revenues reaching $2.24 billion.
• Several hedge funds raised their positions in Sprouts Farmers Market, with Whipplewood Advisors boosting its stake by 92.0%, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 600.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,163 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,141 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SFM. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company's stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, JT Stratford LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 2,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.40, for a total transaction of $318,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,858,201.40. The trade was a 10.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total value of $2,851,131.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. The trade was a 55.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,743 shares of company stock valued at $10,769,633 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.08. 2,044,686 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,362,586. The company has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.78. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.36 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $163.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.31.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SFM. Barclays upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.53.

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.