Millstone Evans Group LLC Buys Shares of 2,350 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 75.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 95,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,180,000 after purchasing an additional 41,285 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,798 shares of the company's stock worth $1,880,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth $1,091,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,176 shares of the company's stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 890 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $122,303.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,347 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,464.74. This represents a 8.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 94,784 shares of company stock worth $13,231,786 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ SFM traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $149.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,267,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,486. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.61 and a twelve month high of $178.99. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $151.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.70. The stock has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.00.

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.