Prudential PLC Makes New $5.62 Million Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 44,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,623,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company's stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,113,000.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 99,699 shares of company stock valued at $13,969,851. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,407,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,269. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.61 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $151.70 and its 200-day moving average is $141.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a PE ratio of 41.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.