Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 17,592 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 17,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth about $60,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. This trade represents a 1.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total value of $757,676.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,463,777.60. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,648 shares of company stock valued at $5,902,586 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $141.42 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.60. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.39 and a 12 month high of $148.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.87, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.40.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.