Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Increases Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 182.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,786 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,027 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,554,000 after acquiring an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company's stock worth $567,322,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock worth $234,231,000 after buying an additional 168,605 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.5 %

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded up $2.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $172.30. 1,522,436 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,423,019. The company has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.82, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $149.71 and its 200 day moving average is $145.19. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.02 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total transaction of $724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,764 shares of company stock valued at $13,562,649 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.00.

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.