Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,165 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,364 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $12,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 379,780 shares of the company's stock worth $48,259,000 after buying an additional 34,436 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 942,785 shares of the company's stock worth $119,800,000 after buying an additional 46,258 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,703 shares of the company's stock worth $13,686,000 after buying an additional 2,815 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,240,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 160.4% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 8,628 shares of the company's stock worth $1,096,000 after buying an additional 5,314 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.79.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 3,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.27, for a total value of $634,865.61. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,071,373.22. This represents a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.74, for a total transaction of $333,480.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,696,065.36. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 104,141 shares of company stock worth $14,851,836. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 3.0%

SFM stock traded down $4.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $156.99. 2,126,692 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,433,238. 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 $74.15 and a one year high of $178.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of 41.75, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $153.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.70.

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

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.