Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Acquires New Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company's stock worth $567,322,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock worth $234,231,000 after purchasing an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,199,000 after buying an additional 160,882 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 0.9%

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $158.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,511,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,669. 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 $154.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.77. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.15 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The firm has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 2,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.74, for a total value of $333,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,065.36. This trade represents a 6.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,811.18. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SFM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.