Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 40,396 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,396 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $18,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter worth about $768,171,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,310,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,790,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,713,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,540,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $95.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $111.00 to $49.00 in a report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $94.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Roth Capital set a $56.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.77.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $50.56 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.35 and a twelve month high of $94.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $64.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.31.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 33.83%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.14, for a total transaction of $584,062.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 269,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,616,717.20. The trade was a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph O’Leary sold 2,597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.57, for a total value of $214,434.29. Following the sale, the director owned 14,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,214,604.70. The trade was a 15.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 46,041 shares of company stock worth $3,108,047 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Its stores offer produce, meat and seafood, bakery and deli items, vitamins and supplements, and packaged grocery products, including the company’s own brands. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Its stores serve communities across the United States, with a footprint concentrated in the Sunbelt and extending into other regions. Sprouts emphasizes fresh foods and products for customers seeking natural, organic and health-oriented options, combining grocery departments with a market-style store format.