Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,191,000. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for about 0.4% of Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,561,000 after acquiring an additional 48,103 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,122,000 after acquiring an additional 10,326 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM stock opened at $143.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.10. The company has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $178.99.

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