Front Row Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Front Row Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 79,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,155 shares during the period. Sprouts Farmers Market comprises about 3.5% of Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $10,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SFM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 94,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,231,786. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $152.64 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $61.61 and a one year high of $178.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $152.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.07. The company has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.