ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 39.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,759 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,579 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $4,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Nine 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.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM stock opened at $168.93 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $156.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.09. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.15 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.93, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 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 analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.16, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,241.68. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 126,362 shares of company stock valued at $18,430,847. 1.10% of the stock is currently 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.