Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 14,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,577,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $233,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at $220,000. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.9% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 11,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at about $149,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SFM. StockNews.com cut shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.40.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. The trade was a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total value of $668,465.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,462,030.97. This trade represents a 31.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,051 shares of company stock worth $5,133,932. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 3.6 %

SFM opened at $153.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a PE ratio of 44.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.54. 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 12-month low of $41.27 and a 12-month high of $153.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.09.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted 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 return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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.