Sowell Financial Services LLC Purchases New Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SFM. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 992 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 287,621 shares of the company's stock worth $36,548,000 after buying an additional 3,922 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,749 shares of the company's stock worth $2,128,000 after buying an additional 1,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,072 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.5%

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $165.96 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.28 and a twelve month high of $182.00. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $165.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.35. 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 $16.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.81.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.79.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 11,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $1,614,935.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,675 shares in the company, valued at $7,968,762.75. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,923,800. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 84,188 shares of company stock valued at $13,578,866 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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