Rossby Financial LCC Invests $503,000 in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,097 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $143,113,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,117,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,946,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 18,234.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 358,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,683,000 after purchasing an additional 356,292 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $162.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.34 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.14. The company has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.78.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results 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 5.53% and a return on equity of 34.20%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total value of $388,731.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,367. This represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,054 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.45, for a total transaction of $650,464.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,037,033. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,905 shares of company stock valued at $11,990,011 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.79.

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.