Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Decreases Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 35.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,632 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,948 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 7,355 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% in the 4th 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 Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,618,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SFM. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $160.44 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $165.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.80. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.34 and a 12 month high of $182.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 2,247 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.00, for a total value of $388,731.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,380,367. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,800. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,905 shares of company stock worth $11,963,931. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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