Curbstone Financial Management Corp Sells 2,920 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp lowered its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,740 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,920 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company's stock worth $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,561,000 after acquiring an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,122,000 after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 464,366 shares of the company's stock worth $53,551,000 after purchasing an additional 95,144 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total value of $4,477,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. This represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,869 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,152. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $2.15 on Tuesday, hitting $152.30. 1,025,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,268,814. The company has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a PE ratio of 44.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.74 and a 1 year high of $155.64. 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 price of $141.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.75.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SFM. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.40.

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.