O Neil Global Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

O Neil Global Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 91.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,579 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,563 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for approximately 0.4% of O Neil Global Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. O Neil Global Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,980,000 after buying an additional 435,767 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,712,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,259,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3,347.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 164,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,188,000 after acquiring an additional 159,954 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $169.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.20 and a 200-day moving average of $129.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.24 and a 52 week high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. Bank of America raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.