Raiffeisen Bank International AG Purchases New Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. totaling 158,600 shares, worth approximately $23.4 million, representing 0.16% ownership.
• Several large investors, including Assenagon Asset Management with a significant boost of 1,033.4%, have also increased their holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, highlighting strong institutional interest.
• Analysts have upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market's stock ratings, with Barclays and Jefferies raising their target prices to $185 and $190, respectively, indicating positive market expectations.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 158,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,434,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned 0.16% of Sprouts Farmers Market at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during 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 stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock worth $225,350,000 after buying an additional 1,346,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company's stock worth $172,199,000 after buying an additional 160,882 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $150.45. The stock had a trading volume of 458,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,738,530. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.15 and a 1 year high of $182.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average is $162.87 and its 200 day moving average is $158.55.

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

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,178 shares in the company, valued at $2,281,098.42. This trade represents a 55.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,054 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.45, for a total transaction of $650,464.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,037,033. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 70,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,511,003. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. Barclays upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven investment 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.87.

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.