J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys New Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. valued at approximately $711,000 during Q1.
• Several investors have significantly increased their positions in Sprouts Farmers Market, with Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosting its stake by 1,033.4%.
• Analysts are optimistic about the stock, with multiple brokerages upgrading their ratings and setting targets up to $190.00.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company's stock worth $567,322,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock worth $234,231,000 after acquiring an additional 168,605 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,199,000 after purchasing an additional 160,882 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $3,395,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares in the company, valued at $9,325,562.50. This trade represents a 26.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.76, for a total value of $634,094.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,392,242.40. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 70,725 shares of company stock worth $11,511,003. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded down $2.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.96. 457,791 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,736,635. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $94.15 and a one year high of $182.00. The company has a market cap of $14.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.54 and a 200 day moving average of $158.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $180.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

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.