CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,959,000.
Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. HighTower Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,355 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,046,000 after buying an additional 37,637 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth approximately $270,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock worth $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 12,067 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at $2,618,000.
Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.4%
Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded up $2.34 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $169.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,444,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,568,575. The company's 50 day moving average price is $164.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.95. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.41 and a twelve month high of $182.00. The firm has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.77.
Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 34.20%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market
In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.94, for a total transaction of $659,092.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,472,135.60. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $230,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,923,800. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms recently commented on SFM. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $173.00 price target (up previously from $172.00) on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.86.
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Sprouts Farmers Market Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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