CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 15,164 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,821 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,164 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.10% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $12,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,404,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,231,000 after acquiring an additional 168,605 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,551 shares of the company's stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 433.0% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 126,390 shares of the company's stock worth $16,060,000 after purchasing an additional 102,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 9,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 owns 189,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. This trade represents a 20.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,764 shares of company stock worth $13,562,649. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of SFM traded up $2.01 on Thursday, reaching $166.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,350,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,629. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a PE ratio of 44.33, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.02 and a twelve month high of $178.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.90 and a 200-day moving average of $144.02.

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

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.