Wesbanco Bank Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. decreased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,377 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,282 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SFM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $3.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $161.88. 1,793,706 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,461,590. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a PE ratio of 43.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $163.23 and a 200 day moving average of $152.80. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.15 and a 1-year high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 890 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $122,303.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,464.74. The trade was a 8.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,923,800. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 145,825 shares of company stock worth $21,813,320 in the last 90 days. Company 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.