Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Takes $215,000 Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 614.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,039,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,359,000 after buying an additional 2,614,241 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,477,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,075,000 after purchasing an additional 17,565 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,436,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,496,000 after purchasing an additional 88,997 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 923,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,521,000 after purchasing an additional 16,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 906,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,803,000 after purchasing an additional 13,701 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $66.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.82. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.12 and a twelve month high of $68.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 26.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total value of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,125,414.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total transaction of $1,367,484.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,513.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

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.