Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock Position Lowered by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,895 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,314 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.06% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $7,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $64,117,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,926,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock worth $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $6,856,983.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,034,081.58. The trade was a 20.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,764 shares of company stock valued at $13,562,649. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM traded up $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $160.15. 1,270,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,422,890. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.72 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $150.97 and a 200 day moving average of $142.26. The stock has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.59, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.