DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 42,947 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lowered its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 190,085 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,947 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.19% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $9,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 831 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 1,260 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total value of $1,978,591.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 82,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,125,414.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 82,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total transaction of $1,367,484.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,513.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.99. 1,211,570 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,300,769. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.21. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.12 and a 12 month high of $65.53. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 26.71%. The firm's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 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.