Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 10,059 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 997,152 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,059 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.02% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $152,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,231,000 after buying an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,097 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,199,000 after acquiring an additional 160,882 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 942,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,800,000 after acquiring an additional 46,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 901,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,509,000 after acquiring an additional 123,247 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $1.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,032,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,744,539. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.25 and a 52 week high of $182.00. The stock has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $160.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.76.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total transaction of $2,851,131.69. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. This represents a 55.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider owned 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $2,180,171.94. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,225 shares of company stock valued at $10,950,283 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SFM. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.20.

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.