Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA decreased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 23.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,910 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,228 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company's stock worth $567,322,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $234,231,000 after acquiring an additional 168,605 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after purchasing an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock worth $225,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,097 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SFM. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,482,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,464,307. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $163.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.97. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.80 and a 52-week high of $182.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,923,800. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $106,500.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,190,887.06. This represents a 4.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 144,760 shares of company stock worth $21,669,577. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.