Clean Yield Group Sells 6,259 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Clean Yield Group lessened its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 89,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,259 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market comprises about 3.6% of Clean Yield Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Clean Yield Group owned approximately 0.09% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $11,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $1,517,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SFM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.99, for a total transaction of $794,188.86. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,934 shares of company stock valued at $8,370,950 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $0.46 during trading on Monday, hitting $138.44. 591,882 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,367,267. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. 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 $13.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $141.49 and its 200-day moving average is $115.06.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share 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.