Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 2,683 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lowered its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,460 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,683 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Unified Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at $13,348,000. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $1,517,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,561,000 after buying an additional 48,103 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, 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 transaction 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 trade represents a 14.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,980,990.52. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.15.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $136.75 on Monday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.46 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The stock has a market cap of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.80 and a 200 day moving average of $134.66. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.