Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 500,874 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151,253 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $63,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,034,000 after buying an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth $64,117,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth about $18,259,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $19,926,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 worth $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.99, for a total value of $794,188.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 158,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,980,990.52. The trade was a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,564 shares of company stock valued at $6,890,970. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $134.91 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $150.39 and its 200-day moving average is $133.68. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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 net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.