Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 55,687 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden reduced its Sprouts Farmers Market stake by 5.1%, selling 55,687 shares in the third quarter. It retained 1,029,343 shares, valued at about $68.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: six analysts rate the stock Buy, six Hold and three Sell, for an overall Hold rating and an average price target of $64.77.
• Sprouts reported quarterly EPS of $1.21, slightly below the $1.22 consensus, and revenue of $2.30 billion versus estimates of $2.33 billion; revenue was up 4.7% year over year.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,029,343 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,687 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 1.12% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $68,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SFM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth about $768,171,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $121,906,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at approximately $131,310,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at approximately $93,790,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,713,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $84.00 to $77.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $94.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, October 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.77.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $54.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.35 and a twelve month high of $94.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.88. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.76.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 33.83% and a net margin of 5.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.48, for a total transaction of $695,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,408,310.40. This represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph O'Leary sold 2,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.57, for a total value of $214,434.29. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,214,604.70. The trade was a 15.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 35,253 shares of company stock valued at $2,523,984 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc NASDAQ: SFM is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Its stores offer a broad selection of fresh produce, meat and seafood, dairy products, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, pantry staples, bakery items, deli products and prepared foods. The company emphasizes products that support healthy eating, including organic, plant-based and specialty-diet options.

Founded in 2002, Sprouts Farmers Market grew from its first store in Chandler, Arizona, into a national grocery chain.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SFM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.