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

Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 484.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SFM. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares in the company, valued at $609,595.12. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 125,362 shares of company stock valued at $18,263,687 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $168.68 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $178.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $155.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.67. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current 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.