Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,828 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.9% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.9% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 57,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 6,551 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at $2,205,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 164,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,720,000 after purchasing an additional 75,300 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $147.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.70 billion, a PE ratio of 42.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.98 and a fifty-two week high of $155.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.90. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 25.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,619,029.86. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 61,869 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,152. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.