R Squared Ltd Takes $400,000 Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,669.44. This represents a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,869 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,152. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $152.30 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. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.74 and a twelve month high of $155.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.96 and a 200-day moving average of $120.25.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 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.