BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $6.82 Million Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,348 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.05% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $6,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 7,355 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,046,000 after buying an additional 37,637 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,000 after buying an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $156.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $178.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.70.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during 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%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total transaction of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. This trade represents a 9.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 104,141 shares of company stock valued at $14,851,836 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SFM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.79.

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.