First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Increases Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,654 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SFM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,980,000 after purchasing an additional 435,767 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,712,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 314.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,727,000 after buying an additional 169,888 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,259,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3,347.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 164,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,188,000 after acquiring an additional 159,954 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. The trade was a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,869 shares of company stock worth $8,778,152 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $150.15 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.75. The stock has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.40, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.74 and a 12 month high of $155.64.

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

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.