Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 103,145 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 26.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283,699 shares of the company's stock after selling 103,145 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $31,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in 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 worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,634,000 after purchasing an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,107,000 after purchasing an additional 973,666 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 worth $96,080,000 after buying an additional 6,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM traded up $2.03 on Wednesday, reaching $131.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 578,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,337,087. 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 capitalization of $13.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $138.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.10.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Melius Research initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.99, for a total value of $794,188.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 158,148 shares in the company, valued at $21,980,990.52. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 25.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,569 shares of company stock worth $9,117,886 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.