White Pine Investment CO Sells 7,910 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

White Pine Investment CO reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,263 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,910 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market makes up approximately 3.4% of White Pine Investment CO's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. White Pine Investment CO owned about 0.08% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $12,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth $51,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SFM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.79.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.34, for a total transaction of $302,680.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,007,222.42. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 677 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $118,596.86. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,552 shares in the company, valued at $972,599.36. This trade represents a 10.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,905 shares of company stock valued at $11,963,931. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.1%

SFM stock traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $162.13. The company had a trading volume of 16,915,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,432. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.90. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.34 and a fifty-two week high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 34.20% and a net margin of 5.53%. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.