Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Buys 14,401 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,767 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,401 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.16% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $7,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SFM. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 614.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,039,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,359,000 after buying an additional 2,614,241 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at $54,912,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,093,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,146,000 after buying an additional 1,629,709 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 77.9% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,726,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,416,000 after buying an additional 756,017 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 366.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 731,309 shares of the company's stock worth $18,517,000 after purchasing an additional 574,423 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ SFM traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $65.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,366,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,149. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $60.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.12 and a 1 year high of $65.53. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.71% and a net margin of 3.79%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $26,049.99. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,377.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $26,049.99. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,377.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $29,923.13. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,597.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.