National Bank of Canada FI Sells 3,900 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. $SFM

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI significantly reduced its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, selling 3,900 shares and lowering its stake by 82.1% to just 851 shares, valued at $130,000.
• Insider activity is notable, with director Terri F. Graham selling 1,278 shares and Joe Fortunato selling 10,000 shares, representing decreases of 3.74% and 35.51% in their ownership, respectively.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their ratings and price targets for Sprouts Farmers Market, with a majority rating it as a moderate buy and an average target price of $172.20.

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 82.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 851 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,900 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,201 shares of the company's stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,899 shares of the company's stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the company's stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,923,800. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 10,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.57, for a total value of $1,475,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,680,461.48. This represents a 35.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,504 shares of company stock valued at $9,407,691. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $145.64 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.62. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.25 and a 1 year high of $182.00. The company has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.78.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.77%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays raised Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.20.

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.

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