Congress Asset Management Co. Raises Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 94.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Sprouts Farmers Market comprises about 1.1% of Congress Asset Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 1.30% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $165,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,122,000 after buying an additional 10,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 25.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 464,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,551,000 after buying an additional 95,144 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM stock opened at $177.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.19, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.04 and a twelve month high of $178.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at $1,619,029.86. This represents a 6.05 % 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 link. Also, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 17,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,700,629.01. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.