Northstar Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,679 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market makes up 1.9% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Northstar Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $7,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,634,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock worth $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company's stock worth $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company's stock worth $77,122,000 after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 350 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director now owns 17,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,700,629.01. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction 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 approximately $24,454,764.88. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $152.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM traded down $26.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $143.32. The company had a trading volume of 5,664,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,466,160. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.11 and a 200-day moving average of $129.61. The company has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.57 and a 1-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 earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current 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.