Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 53.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,160 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $122,303.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,464.74. This represents a 8.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,534,466 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $155.25 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $152.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.45. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.61 and a 1 year high of $178.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 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.