National Bank of Canada FI Acquires 5,239 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 2,831.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,424 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,239 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the 2nd 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 period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted 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 buying an additional 973,666 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,080,000 after buying an additional 6,085 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 28,636 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company's stock worth $108,561,000 after acquiring an additional 48,103 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM stock traded down $4.87 on Monday, hitting $142.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,418,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,466. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.63 and a 12-month high of $155.64. The stock has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $135.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.62.

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

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,004 shares in the company, valued at $23,718,959.64. This represents a 2.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $8,323,697 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Melius Research initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.