CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 16,904 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 506,874 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,904 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC owned 0.51% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $71,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after acquiring an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,634,000 after purchasing an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth 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. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $143,113,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $147.76 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $151.77 and a 200-day moving average of $137.71. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 11,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $1,614,935.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,968,762.75. This represents a 16.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,784 shares of company stock worth $13,231,786 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.