New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Has $3.09 Million Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. by 121.7%, acquiring an additional 11,126 shares, bringing its total holdings to 20,267 shares worth approximately $3.09 million.
• Analysts have shown positive sentiment, with several firms raising their price targets for Sprouts Farmers Market, with Evercore ISI and Barclays both raising theirs to $185.00.
• CEO Jack Sinclair sold over 4,000 shares in a recent transaction, indicating insider selling, while insiders have collectively sold about 70,725 shares worth over $11.5 million in the last ninety days.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 121.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,267 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,126 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth approximately $71,699,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $23,434,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $711,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 7,954 shares of the company's stock worth $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of SFM traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $149.29. The stock had a trading volume of 177,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,082. The firm has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.82. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.68 and a fifty-two week high of $182.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total value of $328,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,263 shares in the company, valued at $2,180,171.94. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,675 shares in the company, valued at $9,325,562.50. The trade was a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,725 shares of company stock worth $11,511,003 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SFM shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.