Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,368 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,544 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.06% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $7,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,715,970 shares of the company's stock worth $690,966,000 after acquiring an additional 29,362 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company's stock worth $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 593,600 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company's stock worth $130,107,000 after purchasing an additional 973,666 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 6,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,138,000 after purchasing an additional 28,636 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total value of $668,465.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,462,030.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,459,571.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,148 shares of company stock worth $6,143,836 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SFM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $5.33 on Friday, hitting $145.98. 595,510 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,331,851. The company's 50-day moving average price is $113.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.40. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.98 and a 52 week high of $146.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.54. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The business's revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current 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.