Marietta Investment Partners LLC Invests $816,000 in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 6,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 9,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,811.18. This represents a 2.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,501 shares of company stock valued at $11,616,851 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SFM. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.9 %

SFM opened at $142.39 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $61.61 and a one year high of $178.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

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.