Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 17,096 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 51.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,498 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,096 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC owned 0.05% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $6,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 723 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,585,000 after buying an additional 12,067 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at $1,037,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,926,000.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12 % 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $160.15. 1,270,951 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,422,890. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $150.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.72 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.