Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,749 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 0.6%

SFM opened at $157.92 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.80 and a 12 month high of $182.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company’s revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 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 $6,856,983.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 189,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,675 shares of company stock worth $22,127,407 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.79.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.