Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Acquired by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,477,341 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,565 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 1.45% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $71,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 614.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,039,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,359,000 after buying an additional 2,614,241 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at $54,912,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,093,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,709 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,911,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 77.9% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,726,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,416,000 after purchasing an additional 756,017 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.43.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $1,367,484.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,513.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total value of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $1,367,484.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,513.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SFM stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $62.57. 1,041,750 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,318,452. The business's fifty day moving average is $58.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.12 and a 12-month high of $65.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 26.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS 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.

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