J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys Shares of 4,656 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 position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 bought and sold shares of SFM. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 259,108 shares of the company's stock worth $32,925,000 after purchasing an additional 93,734 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,046,000 after acquiring an additional 37,637 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $794,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 169,614 shares of the company's stock worth $21,553,000 after purchasing an additional 47,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total transaction of $3,395,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,325,562.50. This trade represents a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,800. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,725 shares of company stock worth $11,511,003. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SFM. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday. 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded up $1.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,591,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,477,935. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.60. The company has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.42 and a 52 week high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.