Vestcor Inc Has $26.64 Million Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Vestcor Inc lessened its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,665 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,893 shares during the period. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for about 0.9% of Vestcor Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $26,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $212,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 31.3% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 38,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 14.2% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,137,080.80. This trade represents a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,564 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,770 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $137.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.94. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.46 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The company has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. On average, analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.15.

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.