Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock Holdings Trimmed by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,086 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,712,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,259,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 valued at $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 137.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 249,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,593,000 after purchasing an additional 144,761 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total transaction of $4,477,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,454,764.88. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,264 shares of company stock worth $6,271,193. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $146.97 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.46 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.87.

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