Swiss National Bank Has $25.03 Million Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,950 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $25,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SFM shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of SFM opened at $140.99 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.46 and a 12-month high of $178.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.93.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,850 shares of company stock worth $1,619,581. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.