15,347 Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Acquired by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 158,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,638,000 after acquiring an additional 14,401 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,152.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 65,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 62,755 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,477,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,075,000 after acquiring an additional 17,565 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $208,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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 report on Tuesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $26,049.99. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,331 shares in the company, valued at $645,377.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total transaction of $26,049.99. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,377.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 160,852 shares of company stock worth $10,032,745. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM stock opened at $65.59 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.50. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.12 and a 12 month high of $66.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.62.

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