HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Invests $162,000 in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,348,000. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,517,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 11,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $1,614,935.79. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,675 shares in the company, valued at $7,968,762.75. This trade represents a 16.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,784 shares of company stock worth $13,534,466. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $145.29 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.24 billion, a PE ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.61 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $152.55 and its 200-day moving average is $138.96.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. Equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SFM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

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.