Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Purchased by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,223 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,107,000 after buying an additional 973,666 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after buying an additional 593,600 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings 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 worth $49,980,000 after buying an additional 435,767 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,712,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 41.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 804,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,271,000 after buying an additional 235,100 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $198,102.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,262.40. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total value of $577,628.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,485,650.88. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,051 shares of company stock worth $5,133,932. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SFM shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $147.98 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.27 and a 1 year high of $149.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $122.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.58.

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

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.