Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 80.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,405 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 987,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,122,000 after acquiring an additional 10,326 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $139.77 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 market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.24. 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 Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,145 shares of company stock valued at $11,427,787 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.92.

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.