Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 48.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 671,817 shares of the company's stock after selling 626,951 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.69% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $102,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,633,000 after buying an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in 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. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company's stock worth $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,618,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. This represents a 9.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 145,825 shares of company stock valued at $21,813,320. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $169.17. 1,121,666 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,456,344. The company has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.99, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.55. 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 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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.