Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Purchased by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 276.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 173,368 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 127,290 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $19,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total transaction of $577,628.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,485,650.88. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,516 shares of company stock worth $4,465,466 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM traded up $2.51 on Friday, hitting $154.48. 873,829 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,338,457. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $127.19 and its 200 day moving average is $101.90. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.27 and a fifty-two week high of $155.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

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.