Banco Santander S.A. Makes New $819,000 Investment in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $819,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.99, for a total value of $794,188.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 158,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,980,990.52. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,995,193. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $136.97 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.46 and a 12-month high of $178.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.