World Investment Advisors Makes New $527,000 Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,896,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 7,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $158.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,335,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,566,135. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.77. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $79.34 and a one year high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.16, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,437,241.68. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $230,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,910 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.