Milestone Asset Management LLC Makes New $257,000 Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SFM. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 37,637 shares during the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $2,618,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kim Coffin sold 4,060 shares of the company'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 $557,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,570,985.44. This trade represents a 26.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 144,547 shares of company stock worth $21,583,280. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. 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 report on Tuesday, February 25th. Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 2.3%

SFM traded down $4.07 on Wednesday, reaching $171.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,264,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,454,665. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.15 and a fifty-two week high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal 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.