Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 2,815 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,703 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,815 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $13,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,046,000 after buying an additional 37,637 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,517,000. Finally, Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 12,067 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,595.12. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 104,141 shares of company stock valued at $14,851,836. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $161.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.15 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.03.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.79.

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.