Narus Financial Partners LLC Acquires 838 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,791 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $7,343,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 263,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,463,000 after purchasing an additional 41,703 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth $400,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $710,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,669.44. This represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 0.7 %

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $156.25 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.81 and a twelve month high of $158.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.41 and a 200-day moving average of $120.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a PE ratio of 45.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.