Nomura Holdings Inc. Boosts Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 484.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,243 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,979 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,322,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,231,000 after buying an additional 168,605 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,199,000 after buying an additional 160,882 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $168.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.67. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 44.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $6,856,983.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 189,449 shares in the company, valued at $26,034,081.58. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total transaction of $2,851,131.69. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. The trade was a 55.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 125,362 shares of company stock worth $18,263,687 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.