Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Takes $762,000 Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,642,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total transaction of $724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.99, for a total value of $794,188.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 158,148 shares in the company, valued at $21,980,990.52. This trade represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,564 shares of company stock worth $2,413,770 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ SFM opened at $136.75 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.46 and a 1-year high of $178.99. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.80 and a 200-day moving average of $134.43. The firm has a market cap of $13.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.15.

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.