Pinebridge Investments L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,917 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,248 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $64,117,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,231,000 after purchasing an additional 168,605 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded up $2.38 on Thursday, hitting $173.38. 1,402,250 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,423,995. The firm has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.19, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.02 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,764 shares of company stock worth $13,562,649. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SFM. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.85.

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.