Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 23,316 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 92.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 48,499 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,316 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $6,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $142.39 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.61 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.50. 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 firm has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.25, for a total value of $140,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,598 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,369.50. This represents a 8.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,501 shares of company stock worth $11,616,851 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.