Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,031 shares of the company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SFM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,322,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,231,000 after acquiring an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,139,000 after acquiring an additional 294,553 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $169.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 52 week low of $64.02 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.19.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,137,080.80. This trade represents a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,764 shares of company stock valued at $13,562,649 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.00.

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.