Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 48.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,538 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,941 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $5,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $136.97 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.46 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The stock has a market cap of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.17. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total transaction of $4,477,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. The trade was a 15.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,264 shares of company stock worth $6,995,193 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

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.