Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 52.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,209 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,235 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.09% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $9,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $198,102.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,262.40. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,004 shares in the company, valued at $23,718,959.64. The trade was a 2.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,516 shares of company stock worth $4,465,466 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $154.48 on Monday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.27 and a fifty-two week high of $155.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $127.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.54. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal 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.