Polianta Ltd Acquires Shares of 8,700 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Polianta Ltd acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,327,000. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for 0.6% of Polianta Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 168,605 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,346,097 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $157.04 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.79 and a fifty-two week high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $230,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,800. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 677 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $118,596.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,552 shares in the company, valued at $972,599.36. This represents a 10.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,760 shares of company stock worth $21,669,577 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.