Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Trims Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,196 shares of the company's stock after selling 179,512 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.34% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $37,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 593,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company's stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 6,085 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company's stock worth $88,138,000 after purchasing an additional 28,636 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of SFM traded down $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $147.79. The company had a trading volume of 798,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,734. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.74 and a 1-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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.17. The stock has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during 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%. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total transaction of $4,477,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163,862 shares in the company, valued at $24,454,764.88. This represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $8,323,697. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Melius Research started 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. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market 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.