Xponance Inc. Increases Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 1.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,046 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,322,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,231,000 after purchasing an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,139,000 after purchasing an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,097 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.79.

Insider Activity

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 20,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $3,395,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,325,562.50. This represents a 26.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 4,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.94, for a total value of $659,092.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,740 shares in the company, valued at $28,472,135.60. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $164.54 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.41 and a 12 month high of $182.00. The stock has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $164.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.