Swiss National Bank Sells 2,900 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 1.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 196,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $21,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,715,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,966,000 after buying an additional 29,362 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter worth about $445,000. Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 192.4% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after acquiring an additional 15,780 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.2 %

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $145.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.16, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.40. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $148.56.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 25.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,669.44. This represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,148 shares of company stock valued at $5,853,826. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.