Wells Fargo & Company MN Buys 37,637 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,364 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,637 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.18% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $23,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $64,117,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at approximately $18,259,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,926,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $160.15. 1,270,951 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,422,890. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.72 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 96,764 shares of company stock valued at $13,562,649. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note 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 on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sprouts Farmers Market from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.00.

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.