Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,484 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 15.6 %

NASDAQ SFM opened at $143.32 on Monday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $52.57 and a one year high of $178.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $148.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.12, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,619,029.86. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SFM. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.40.

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.