Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 212,194 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,219 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.21% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $26,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,034,000 after buying an additional 632,523 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $64,117,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth about $18,259,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,926,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,407,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,269. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $151.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.07. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.61 and a 1 year high of $178.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

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Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on SFM shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 11,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total transaction of $1,614,935.79. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,968,762.75. This trade represents a 16.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,699 shares of company stock worth $13,969,851 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.