Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 1,033.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,476,351 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,346,097 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 1.51% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $225,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,117,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,946,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 18,234.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 358,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,683,000 after purchasing an additional 356,292 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 145,825 shares of company stock valued at $21,813,320. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $161.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $182.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.86.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.