Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 75.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 95,853 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 41,285 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.10% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $12,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.9 %

SFM stock opened at $142.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.61 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.50. The firm has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. This represents a 2.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,501 shares of company stock worth $11,616,851 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.