Virtue Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 7,842 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Virtue Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sculati Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $451,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, JT Stratford LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.0%

SFM opened at $163.43 on Monday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.15 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $118,596.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $972,599.36. This represents a 10.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.08, for a total transaction of $481,208.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,289,703.80. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,277 shares of company stock valued at $18,912,055. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.