Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,107,000 after acquiring an additional 973,666 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,980,000 after purchasing an additional 435,767 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,712,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 314.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,727,000 after purchasing an additional 169,888 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.60, for a total value of $104,625.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,868,513.60. This represents a 3.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,004 shares in the company, valued at $23,718,959.64. The trade was a 2.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,569 shares of company stock valued at $9,117,886 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $134.69 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.63 and a 52 week high of $155.64.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Melius Research began coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.40.

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.