AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 9,271 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 450.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,329 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,271 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unified Investment Management bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth $13,348,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth $3,252,000. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth $1,517,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $136.97 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.46 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.42.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This trade represents a 14.89 % 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 worth $6,995,193. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.