First Hawaiian Bank Buys Shares of 11,940 Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,517,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 520 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 1.6 %

SFM traded down $2.22 on Friday, reaching $137.98. 1,467,312 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,501,485. 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 52-week low of $48.98 and a 52-week high of $155.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $141.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.22. The company has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.88, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.40.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,459,571.64. This represents a 25.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. This represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,934 shares of company stock valued at $8,370,950 in the last three months. Corporate 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.