LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys Shares of 18,344 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,331,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $146.97 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.46 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $149.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.87.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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 report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total transaction of $4,477,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. This represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,619,029.86. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,271,193. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.