Nordea Investment Management AB Lowers Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Nordea Investment Management AB decreased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,722,269 shares of the company's stock after selling 317,185 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 2.72% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $348,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,759 shares of the company's stock worth $1,318,000 after buying an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.7% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,532 shares of the company's stock worth $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter worth $236,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 324,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 130.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 55,567 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,463,777.60. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,459,571.64. This represents a 25.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,475,575. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded up $6.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $140.76. 1,747,393 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,477. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $140.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.42. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.60 and a 52 week high of $155.64.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.