Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 66.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 381,168 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 152,359 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $48,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at about $13,348,000. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,517,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SFM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.00.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,699 shares of company stock worth $13,969,851 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM traded up $3.35 on Friday, reaching $157.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,407,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,418,136. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.61 and a 52-week high of $178.99. The company has a market cap of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.83, a P/E/G 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.30.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS 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.