15,055 Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Bought by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,662,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 25,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,780,000 after buying an additional 3,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $147.13 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.27 and a twelve month high of $148.56. The company has a market capitalization of $14.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 5,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.00, for a total value of $519,894.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,666,076. This trade represents a 16.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 51,627 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,700. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,148 shares of company stock valued at $5,853,826 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on SFM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

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.