Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Lowers Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board trimmed its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 52.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,648 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $82.78 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.62. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.12 and a twelve month high of $82.96. The company has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $1,367,484.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,513.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $1,367,484.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at $499,513.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 417 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.47, for a total value of $26,049.99. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,331 shares in the company, valued at $645,377.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 215,567 shares of company stock worth $14,114,924. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.25.

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.