Van ECK Associates Corp Has $7.06 Million Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 26.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,368 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,544 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $7,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 605 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.8% during the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,700. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,651,373.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,148 shares of company stock worth $6,143,836. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $140.65 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $39.98 and a one year high of $142.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.40. 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 $14.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SFM. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.

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.