Paloma Partners Management Co Purchases Shares of 8,468 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $935,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter worth approximately $736,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 505.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 43,990 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $349,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $150.92 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $128.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.58. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.02 and a 12-month high of $155.64.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,718,959.64. This trade represents a 2.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $198,102.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,172 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,262.40. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,802 shares of company stock worth $3,887,838. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.