Citigroup Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 137.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 249,914 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 144,761 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $27,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter worth about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on SFM shares. Melius Research initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the business’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 $1,462,030.97. The trade was a 31.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $198,102.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,262.40. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,051 shares of company stock worth $5,133,932 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $147.98 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.27 and a 1-year high of $149.89. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $122.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.77, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS 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.