Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Bought by EFG Asset Management North America Corp.

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,917 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,725 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $5,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SFM. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 47,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,055,000 after purchasing an additional 24,567 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 191,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,299,000 after purchasing an additional 75,051 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 160,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,398,000 after buying an additional 51,782 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $122,303.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,464.74. The trade was a 8.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 83,501 shares of company stock valued at $11,616,851. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $145.42 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.61 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $151.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm 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 anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SFM. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm raised their target price on 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, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.92.

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.