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

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 481.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $18,259,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 249,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,593,000 after acquiring an additional 144,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 276.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 173,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,142,000 after acquiring an additional 127,290 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total value of $4,477,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market 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 owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,137,080.80. This trade represents a 14.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,564 shares of company stock worth $6,890,970. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $134.91 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.46 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.39 and a 200-day moving average of $133.68.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. As a group, analysts predict 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.