Man Group plc Has $36.84 Million Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 204.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 289,929 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 194,792 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.29% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $36,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SFM. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 128.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 199,035 shares of the company's stock worth $21,975,000 after buying an additional 111,838 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 618 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 82.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the company's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 15,823 shares of the company's stock worth $2,011,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth $318,000.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total transaction of $2,851,131.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. This trade represents a 55.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $6,856,983.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 125,362 shares of company stock valued at $18,263,687. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of SFM stock traded up $7.40 on Friday, reaching $168.68. 1,480,546 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,449,462. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $178.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average price is $155.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.67.

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

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.