Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 45,991 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 184,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,991 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $23,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,117,000. Finally, Davis R M Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $134.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.46 and a 1 year high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. Equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total transaction of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,564 shares of company stock valued at $6,890,970 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SFM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.15.

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.