Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Sells 50,661 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,224 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,661 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for 1.4% of Bragg Financial Advisors Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc owned about 0.28% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $35,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SFM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at about $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position 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 purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth $64,117,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth approximately $18,259,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 0.4 %

SFM stock traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $160.15. 1,270,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,422,890. The company has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.26. 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 twelve month low of $62.72 and a twelve month high of $178.99.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $6,856,983.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. This trade represents a 20.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at $609,595.12. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,764 shares of company stock worth $13,562,649 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is 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.