Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Acquired by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,714 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,904 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of SFM traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $104.05. 1,749,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,360,488. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.25 and its 200-day moving average is $76.08. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $104.41.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $89.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total transaction of $668,465.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,462,030.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total value of $668,465.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,462,030.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,718 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $440,686.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 256,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,785,102.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 121,228 shares of company stock valued at $11,795,565 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.