Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Bought by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 481.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,855 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,364 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,564 shares of company stock valued at $6,890,970. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.6 %

SFM stock opened at $134.91 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.68. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.46 and a twelve 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 $13.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.88, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SFM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.15.

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.