35,745 Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Purchased by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 35,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,542,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 3,788 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 17,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 237.4% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 57,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,252,000 after acquiring an additional 40,159 shares during the period. Finally, Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at about $381,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 126,362 shares of company stock valued at $18,430,847 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $168.59. The company had a trading volume of 167,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,442,194. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.15 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.76, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.09.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

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.