Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 84.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,809 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,933 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP owned 0.08% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $5,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $219,000. Duality Advisers LP raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 362.3% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 70,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 55,598 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 88,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $432,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider David Mcglinchey sold 12,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.01, for a total value of $904,328.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,007 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,768.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider David Mcglinchey sold 12,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.01, for a total transaction of $904,328.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,850,768.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.38, for a total transaction of $476,433.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 245,288 shares in the company, valued at $20,452,113.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,147 shares of company stock valued at $4,999,299 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.63. 855,057 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,320,233. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.21 and a 52-week high of $84.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.03 and its 200 day moving average is $65.14. The stock has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 26.77%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS 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.