McBroom & Associates LLC Takes $3.23 Million Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

McBroom & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,234,000. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for approximately 1.8% of McBroom & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the first 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. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on 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 Mkm raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,923,800. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,675 shares of company stock valued at $22,127,407. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $0.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $157.92. 1,482,568 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,466,792. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $164.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.31 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The company has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

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.