Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $275,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SFM. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 128.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 199,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,975,000 after acquiring an additional 111,838 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 106.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 64,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 33,011 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 82.7% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 8,010 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,831.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth about $18,259,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $147.79 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.98. The stock has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.58. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.74 and a 12 month high of $155.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.60, for a total transaction of $104,625.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,868,513.60. This trade represents a 3.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,718,959.64. This represents a 2.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,697 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.