1,720 Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Bought by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,107,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,760,000 after purchasing an additional 36,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 987,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,836 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SFM. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.92.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $122,303.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,464.74. This represents a 8.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,501 shares of company stock valued at $11,616,851 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $145.42 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.61 and a 52-week high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $151.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.34. The stock has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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.