Wesbanco Bank Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,659 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.8% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 734,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,489,000 after acquiring an additional 53,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,122,000 after acquiring an additional 10,326 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $20,741,491.26. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. The trade was a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,869 shares of company stock worth $8,778,152. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $146.25 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $48.98 and a one year high of $155.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 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.