Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can cut its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 52.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,209 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,235 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $9,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at $736,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 505.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after buying an additional 43,990 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $349,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 208.2% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 109,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,140,000 after acquiring an additional 73,807 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $154.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.07. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.27 and a 12 month high of $155.64.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.40.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,459,571.64. This trade represents a 25.52 % 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 Dustin Hamilton sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.60, for a total transaction of $104,625.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,868,513.60. The trade was a 3.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,516 shares of company stock valued at $4,465,466. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.