Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases Shares of 22,138 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in 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 period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth about $13,348,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,252,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,561,000 after buying an additional 48,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,517,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $150.15 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.74 and a 52 week high of $155.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $141.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.75. The stock has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SFM. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 25.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total value of $4,477,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,869 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,152. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.