Cerity Partners LLC Invests $202,000 in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $67.50 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.12 and a fifty-two week high of $68.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.11. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.71% and a net margin of 3.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SFM. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.14.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 5,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total value of $329,851.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at $671,349.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 5,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total transaction of $329,851.86. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,349.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,125,414.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,852 shares of company stock worth $10,032,745 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.