Legato Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth $13,348,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at about $3,252,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $1,517,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $124.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares of the company's stock, 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 available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 350 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $177.12. 1,225,716 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,664. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $146.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.14. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.04 and a 12 month high of $178.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.63.

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.