Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 24,428 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 55.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,676 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,428 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,097 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,355,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,199,000 after acquiring an additional 160,882 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 997,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,205,000 after acquiring an additional 10,059 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 942,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,800,000 after acquiring an additional 46,258 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 2,937 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total value of $440,755.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,250,149.58. This represents a 16.38% 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, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total value of $328,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,180,171.94. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,504 shares of company stock valued at $9,574,851 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. 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. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $172.20.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 1.9%

SFM stock traded down $2.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $143.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,572,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,596,808. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.25 and a 52 week high of $182.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $159.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.62. The stock has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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.