Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 3,689 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,824 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,689 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 411.4% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,538,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,013,000 after buying an additional 1,237,610 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,992,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,478,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,135,000 after buying an additional 398,901 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 9.8% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,336,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,419,000 after buying an additional 297,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,840,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $102.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $89.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.38.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total transaction of $668,465.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,462,030.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total transaction of $668,465.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,462,030.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 5,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.00, for a total transaction of $519,894.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,666,076. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 121,228 shares of company stock worth $11,795,565 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $97.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $104.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $91.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current 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.