6,513 Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Purchased by SLT Holdings LLC

SLT Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $828,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the third 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 987,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,122,000 after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,995,193. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $136.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.46 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.17.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SFM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

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.