Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Bought by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 60.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,978 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,118 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $6,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SFM. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company's stock worth $23,046,000 after acquiring an additional 37,637 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at $270,000. Finally, Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total transaction of $2,851,131.69. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. This trade represents a 55.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kim Coffin sold 3,643 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.27, for a total value of $634,865.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,886 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,373.22. This represents a 23.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,905 shares of company stock worth $11,963,931 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SFM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $2.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $164.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,189,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,554,475. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.78 and a 200 day moving average of $154.08. The company has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $79.34 and a one year high of $182.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The business's revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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.