ING Groep NV Invests $13.85 Million in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 109,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,851,000. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.11% of Sprouts Farmers Market at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 110,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,078,000 after buying an additional 6,944 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 9,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 38,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,836,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SFM. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $169.80 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.24 and a 12-month high of $178.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.27.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted 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. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. Analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.