Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 25,879 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 267.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,565 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,879 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 158,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,638,000 after purchasing an additional 14,401 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,152.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 65,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 62,755 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,477,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,075,000 after acquiring an additional 17,565 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at $1,337,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $208,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total value of $240,441.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,084.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total transaction of $240,441.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,084.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kim Coffin sold 1,322 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $99,216.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,775. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 198,348 shares of company stock worth $12,818,196. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SFM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $74.66 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.12 and a 1 year high of $75.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.76 and its 200 day moving average is $53.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current 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.