Vista Investment Partners LLC Has $8.65 Million Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 103,329 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market comprises 2.9% of Vista Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Vista Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $8,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 20,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 5,028 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at about $569,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,152.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 65,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after buying an additional 62,755 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $1,371,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $89.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.38.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 0.3 %

SFM traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $98.74. The stock had a trading volume of 828,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,683,992. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.55. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.16 and a 52 week high of $103.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 1,904 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $192,532.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,165.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 1,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $192,532.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,165.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,718 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total value of $440,686.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 256,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,785,102.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,096 shares of company stock valued at $10,750,846. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.