Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Position Lifted by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,659 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth about $13,348,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth about $3,252,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,561,000 after buying an additional 48,103 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,517,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,700,629.01. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total value of $757,676.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 199,576 shares in the company, valued at $26,463,777.60. This trade represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 61,869 shares of company stock worth $8,778,152. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 0.5 %

SFM opened at $146.25 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.98 and a 1-year high of $155.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.10. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 42.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SFM. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

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.