Bank of America Corp DE Buys 123,247 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 901,150 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,247 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.90% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $114,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after acquiring an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,322,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,199,000 after buying an additional 160,882 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $161.59 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.15 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $153.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.23. The stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 42.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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 related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. This trade represents a 2.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.74, for a total transaction of $333,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,065.36. The trade was a 6.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 104,141 shares of company stock valued at $14,851,836 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.79.

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.