Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 698,506 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.70% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $77,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SFM. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter worth about $736,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 505.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 43,990 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $349,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the company's stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,718,959.64. The trade was a 2.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $198,102.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,596,262.40. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,887,838. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $152.77. 271,697 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,332,196. 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 market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $129.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.64. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.73 and a 1 year high of $155.64.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.