Boston Common Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,722 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,233 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $16,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,477 shares of the company's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 618 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 605 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,717 shares of the company's stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SFM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. This represents a 25.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total transaction of $757,676.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,463,777.60. This trade represents a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 61,869 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,152. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $139.25. 1,343,105 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,167,050. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $141.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.57. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.98 and a 1 year high of $155.64. The company has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.63. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 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.