Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 4,017 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,017 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $4,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $165,034,000 after purchasing an additional 632,523 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 987,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,430,000 after buying an additional 3,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,122,000 after buying an additional 10,326 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.15.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.99, for a total transaction of $794,188.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 158,148 shares in the company, valued at $21,980,990.52. This trade represents a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total transaction of $724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,564 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,770 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $136.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.96. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its 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 net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS 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.