California Public Employees Retirement System Has $60.98 Million Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 479,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,127 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.48% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $60,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,034,000 after buying an additional 632,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth $143,113,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at $20,741,491.26. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,784 shares of company stock worth $13,534,466. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $155.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.61 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.45.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

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.