Polymer Capital Management US LLC Makes New $614,000 Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,113,000.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related 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 transaction 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 represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,534,466 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $145.29 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $61.61 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.