PGGM Investments Sells 314,726 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

PGGM Investments decreased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 43.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 409,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 314,726 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $19,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,904,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,783. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.12 and a 52-week high of $68.03. The firm has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 26.71%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 3,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total transaction of $234,969.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,170.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.