Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Raises Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 2,748.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,138 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded down $3.33 on Friday, reaching $161.07. 1,063,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,048,378. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.24 and a 1 year high of $182.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $164.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.85. The company has a market cap of $15.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.77.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.94, for a total value of $659,092.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,740 shares in the company, valued at $28,472,135.60. This represents a 2.26% 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 Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total transaction of $328,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,180,171.94. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SFM. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $173.00 price target (up from $172.00) on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $173.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.20.

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.