Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Acquires 34,840 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461,422 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,840 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $58,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after acquiring an additional 56,652 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company's stock worth $567,322,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,231,000 after purchasing an additional 168,605 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock worth $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $169.76. 2,357,260 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,421,907. The company has a market cap of $16.67 billion, a PE ratio of 45.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.02 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.82.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.36, for a total value of $435,384.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,276,088.40. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the 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 owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,764 shares of company stock worth $13,562,649. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.