Navellier & Associates Inc. Has $7.79 Million Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 1,601.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,332 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,728 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for about 0.9% of Navellier & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Navellier & Associates Inc. owned about 0.06% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $7,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Creative Planning grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,193,000 after acquiring an additional 8,017 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 42.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 44,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,872,000 after purchasing an additional 13,142 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 74,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,196,000 after buying an additional 4,347 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 15.6 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $143.32 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.57 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.61. The company has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.12, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. Research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total transaction of $4,477,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,454,764.88. This represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,700,629.01. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731. Company 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.