Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 37,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,663,000. Sprouts Farmers Market makes up about 1.2% of Moody Aldrich Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SFM. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $164.19. 1,511,997 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,564,089. The business's fifty day moving average price is $165.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.77. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.34 and a 52 week high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 34.20%. The company's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total value of $388,731.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,380,367. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total transaction of $3,395,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares in the company, valued at $9,325,562.50. This trade represents a 26.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 72,905 shares of company stock valued at $11,990,011. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.