Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes $299,000 Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $51,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $142.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.88 and a 200-day moving average of $135.50. The stock has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.61 and a 52-week 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.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SFM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $6,856,983.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. The trade was a 20.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,501 shares of company stock valued at $11,616,851 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.