Man Group plc Purchases 194,792 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Man Group plc raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 204.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 289,929 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 194,792 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $36,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SFM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $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. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $53,946,000. Finally, 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 worth $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $158.48 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.15 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $154.45 and its 200 day moving average is $148.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a PE ratio of 42.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $6,856,983.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 189,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 106,141 shares of company stock worth $15,170,636. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFM has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised 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 research report on Friday, February 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.79.

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.