Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 897 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 28,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $147.76 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.61 and a 12 month high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $6,856,983.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 189,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,034,081.58. This represents a 20.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold 94,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,231,786 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.