Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Makes New $1.09 Million Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,091,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,942,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 90.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 6,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,741,491.26. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,850 shares of company stock worth $1,619,581. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $140.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.46 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. As a group, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share 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.