Glenmede Trust Co. NA Reduces Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Glenmede Trust Co. NA lowered its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,568 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,177 shares during the quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,107,000 after acquiring an additional 973,666 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company's stock worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,980,000 after purchasing an additional 435,767 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth $31,712,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 804,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,271,000 after purchasing an additional 235,100 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $198,102.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,596,262.40. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. This represents a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,802 shares of company stock worth $3,887,838. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $151.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,398,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,325,732. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $128.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.77. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $44.02 and a one year high of $155.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.58.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on SFM shares. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.40.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.