Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stake Lowered by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 921,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.91% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $44,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total value of $1,978,591.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total value of $1,978,591.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 5,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total transaction of $329,851.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at $671,349.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,852 shares of company stock worth $10,032,745 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM opened at $65.15 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.13 and a 200-day moving average of $51.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.50. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.12 and a 12-month high of $65.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.71% and a net margin of 3.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.14.

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.