American Century Companies Inc. Has $140.76 Million Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,107,739 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,255 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.11% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $140,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,501 shares of company stock valued at $11,616,851. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SFM. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $142.39 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $150.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.02. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.61 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

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

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.