Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 23,102 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 57.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,499 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,102 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.06% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $8,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 128.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 199,035 shares of the company's stock worth $21,975,000 after acquiring an additional 111,838 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position 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 during the period. Burney Co. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $318,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on SFM shares. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $167.62. 170,874 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,444,431. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $155.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.82. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.15 and a 12 month high of $178.99.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 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 transaction of $6,856,983.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,449 shares in the company, valued at $26,034,081.58. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 677 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total transaction of $118,596.86. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $972,599.36. The trade was a 10.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 125,362 shares of company stock worth $18,263,687. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.