Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Acquires New Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 20,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,618,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,046,000 after buying an additional 37,637 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $1,517,000. Finally, Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock worth $2,585,000 after acquiring an additional 12,067 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 49,898 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $6,856,983.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 189,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,034,081.58. This trade represents a 20.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total transaction of $118,596.86. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $972,599.36. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,141 shares of company stock valued at $14,518,356 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $1.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $167.69. 1,802,616 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,417,376. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $152.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $73.66 and a one year high of $178.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a PE ratio of 44.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current 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.