Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Grows Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,677 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during 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 last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $64,117,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at about $18,259,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,926,000.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.34, for a total transaction of $302,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.42. This trade represents a 13.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,595.12. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,784 shares of company stock worth $13,534,466 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.7 %

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $155.25 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $61.61 and a one year high of $178.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.