Norden Group LLC Purchases 4,052 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 197.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,100 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,052 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings 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 worth $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,348,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,252,000. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,517,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % 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 2,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,271,193 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 1.0 %

SFM stock opened at $146.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $60.46 and a one year high of $178.99. The stock has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.