Vista Investment Partners II LLC Acquires New Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 31,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,000. Sprouts Farmers Market makes up 2.4% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,259,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $19,926,000. 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 valued at $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 249,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,593,000 after buying an additional 144,761 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.15.

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Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $2.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $137.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,555,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,269. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.46 and a 12-month high of $178.99. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $150.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,564 shares of company stock valued at $6,890,970. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.