CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 15,164 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co reduced its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,821 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,164 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.10% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $12,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,322,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,231,000 after acquiring an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company's stock worth $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company's stock worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.03. The stock had a trading volume of 918,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,420,097. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $64.02 and a one year high of $178.99. The firm has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a PE ratio of 44.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $149.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.38. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $31,929.47. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,811.18. This trade represents a 2.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $24,070,304.26. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,764 shares of company stock worth $13,562,649 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on SFM shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.