AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,369 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,269 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.19% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $23,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter.
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on 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, StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.15.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Sprouts Farmers Market
In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,564 shares of company stock worth $6,890,970. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.
Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded up $2.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,555,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,269. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.94. 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 12 month low of $60.46 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The stock has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.
Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.
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.
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