Caxton Associates LP Buys Shares of 7,924 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SFM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock worth $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,117,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock worth $234,231,000 after buying an additional 168,605 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $6,856,983.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. This trade represents a 20.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 104,141 shares of company stock valued at $14,851,836. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of SFM traded up $3.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $161.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,719,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,427,907. 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 52 week low of $74.15 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $153.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.03. The stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.98, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SFM shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.79.

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.