Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 92.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 48,499 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,316 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $6,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SFM. Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth about $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in 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 last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,348,000. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth about $1,517,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $108,561,000 after buying an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SFM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $142.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.61 and a 52-week high of $178.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $150.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. Research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.25, for a total value of $140,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,369.50. The trade was a 8.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,501 shares of company stock valued at $11,616,851 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.