Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 2,281 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 462,085 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,281 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.46% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $58,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.34, for a total value of $302,680.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.42. This represents a 13.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $31,929.47. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,425,811.18. This represents a 2.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,534,466 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.6 %

SFM stock traded up $3.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $151.13. The stock had a trading volume of 639,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,400,551. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.72. 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 firm has a market cap of $14.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.61 and a 52-week high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share 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.