Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 22,586 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 860,138 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,586 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.88% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $131,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% during 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. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at about $270,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,585,000 after buying an additional 12,067 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,618,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.1%

SFM stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $159.67. The company had a trading volume of 333,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,774,661. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.68 and a 52 week high of $182.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $164.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.04. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.77.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.79.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total value of $388,731.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 7,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,367. This represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kim Coffin sold 3,643 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.27, for a total value of $634,865.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,071,373.22. This trade represents a 23.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,035 shares of company stock valued at $12,213,719 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.