Intrust Bank NA Acquires 514 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Intrust Bank NA raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,751 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 94,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,231,786. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $147.76 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.71. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $61.61 and a one year high of $178.99. The company has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SFM. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of 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 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.00.

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.