California State Teachers Retirement System Has $11.90 Million Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,681 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,161 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $11,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,137,080.80. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 677 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total transaction of $118,596.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $972,599.36. This trade represents a 10.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 149,547 shares of company stock valued at $22,307,280. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SFM. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded down $4.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $175.21. 1,872,789 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,454,270. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $181.92. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $161.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

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. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.