Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Acquires Shares of 2,036 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 38,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,272,000 after buying an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,252,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,712,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $141.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $117.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.99, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.39 and a 1 year high of $148.56.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. The trade was a 1.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,648 shares of company stock worth $5,902,586. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.