Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Bragg Financial Advisors Inc

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 278,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,661 shares during the period. Sprouts Farmers Market makes up approximately 1.4% of Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $35,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $18,259,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,831.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 5,239 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 128.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 199,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,975,000 after acquiring an additional 111,838 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the third 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 period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $157.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $15.42 billion, a PE ratio of 41.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.07. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,699 shares of company stock worth $13,969,851. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.00.

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.