Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 6,542 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth $51,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at $20,741,491.26. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 83,501 shares of company stock worth $11,616,851. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $145.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.61 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. On average, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.