Principal Securities Inc. Has $126,000 Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 69.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 992 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $226,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 79,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,075,000 after purchasing an additional 19,921 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $780,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ SFM opened at $144.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.13 and a 52 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 fifty day moving average of $148.24 and a 200-day moving average of $130.78.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.18.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,454,764.88. The trade was 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 at this link. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731 over the last ninety days. 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.