Vista Investment Partners LLC Has $8.46 Million Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Vista Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,358 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market makes up about 2.6% of Vista Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $8,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $108,561,000 after buying an additional 48,103 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.8% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 734,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,489,000 after buying an additional 53,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,122,000 after buying an additional 10,326 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SFM. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM stock opened at $146.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.41, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.35 and a twelve month high of $155.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,669.44. The trade was a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 61,869 shares of company stock worth $8,778,152. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.