Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 19,536 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 46.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,536 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $51,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,326,755.10. The trade was a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,784 shares of company stock worth $13,231,786 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SFM. Northcoast Research raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $148.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,053,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,840. The firm has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.44, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $151.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $61.61 and a one year high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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

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.