Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock Holdings Increased by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 145.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,915 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 150,594 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $32,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company's stock worth $3,896,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total value of $388,731.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,367. This represents a 21.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,736 shares of company stock worth $14,253,272. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SFM. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. 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 note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.77.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM stock opened at $173.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.34. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.15 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The stock has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share 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.

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