Virtu Financial LLC Invests $831,000 in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 6,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at $13,348,000. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $1,517,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,501 shares of company stock worth $11,616,851. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.1 %

SFM stock opened at $145.42 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $61.61 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $151.01 and a 200 day moving average of $136.34.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.