Hood River Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,682 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,553 shares during the quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $11,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 461,422 shares of the company's stock worth $58,633,000 after acquiring an additional 34,840 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 12,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,597,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 30,917 shares of the company's stock worth $3,929,000 after purchasing an additional 9,248 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 85.3% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 41,908 shares of the company's stock worth $5,325,000 after purchasing an additional 19,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 166.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 145,285 shares of the company's stock worth $18,562,000 after acquiring an additional 90,789 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 11,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $1,614,935.79. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 55,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,968,762.75. This represents a 16.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,764 shares of company stock worth $13,562,649 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $1.73 on Monday, reaching $169.76. 2,357,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,421,907. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $149.83 and a 200-day moving average of $144.82. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.02 and a twelve month high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 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.