Voya Investment Management LLC Purchases 4,029 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 36,675 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,029 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $4,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company's stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company's stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company's stock worth $3,896,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total transaction of $388,731.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,380,367. This represents a 21.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.01, for a total transaction of $301,892.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,181,863.95. The trade was a 6.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,736 shares of company stock valued at $14,253,272. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.77.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $2.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $173.93. 2,009,350 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,416,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $73.46 and a one year high of $178.99. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.46 and a 200 day moving average of $146.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal 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.