LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Makes New $2.33 Million Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 18,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,331,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SFM. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM opened at $146.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.46 and a 52-week high of $178.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.87. The company has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. On average, analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,271,193. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.