Wellington Management Group LLP Takes Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 67,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,880,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.07% of Sprouts Farmers Market at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.3% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 831 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13,150.0% in the 2nd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, West Tower Group LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 5,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total transaction of $329,851.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at $671,349.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 5,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total transaction of $329,851.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,349.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 31,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.03, for a total value of $1,998,681.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,332,052.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,852 shares of company stock worth $10,032,745. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $64.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.12 and a 52 week high of $65.53.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 26.71%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current 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.