Northstar Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 21.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,260 shares during the period. Sprouts Farmers Market accounts for approximately 2.1% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Northstar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $6,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,926,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 250,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,816,000 after purchasing an additional 51,358 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at about $292,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 9,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $145.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.60. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.25 and a 1-year high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $230,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,910 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,800. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total transaction of $328,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 13,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,180,171.94. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,504 shares of company stock worth $9,407,691. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $180.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $175.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.20.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.