First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 367 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,654 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SFM. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM stock opened at $150.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $49.74 and a one year high of $155.64. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.75.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total value of $757,676.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,463,777.60. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,869 shares of company stock worth $8,778,152 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.