Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Increases Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,885 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned about 0.09% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $5,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $232,000. TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at $432,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at $1,643,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,336,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,419,000 after buying an additional 297,067 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $1.17 on Friday, hitting $83.87. 110,718 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,314,636. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.85 and its 200 day moving average is $64.91. The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.55. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.21 and a 1-year high of $84.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 1,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $99,216.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,775. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 1,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $99,216.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,775. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total value of $387,894.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,718.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,147 shares of company stock valued at $4,999,299. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.