Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Reduces Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC cut its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,301 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $10,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,034,000 after buying an additional 632,523 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $64,117,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth about $18,259,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,926,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in 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 period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $149.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.61 and a 12-month high of $178.99. The company has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. This trade represents a 2.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,784 shares of company stock worth $13,231,786 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.