Barclays PLC Boosts Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Barclays PLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 128.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 199,035 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 111,838 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $21,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,107,000 after buying an additional 973,666 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company's stock worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company's stock worth $49,980,000 after acquiring an additional 435,767 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,712,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 804,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,271,000 after purchasing an additional 235,100 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SFM traded down $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.79. The company had a trading volume of 798,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,734. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $14.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $135.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.17. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.74 and a 52 week high of $155.64.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total transaction of $4,477,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,862 shares in the company, valued at $24,454,764.88. This represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,697. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SFM. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.40.

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.