5,750 Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Purchased by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.92. 1,474,840 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,329,223. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.50. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $32.12 and a one year high of $79.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.88.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 1,322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total transaction of $99,216.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $412,775. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 1,322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $99,216.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,500 shares in the company, valued at $412,775. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total transaction of $1,367,484.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,513.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 210,567 shares of company stock worth $13,722,524 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Bank of America raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.25.

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.