Curbstone Financial Management Corp Lowers Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp decreased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,740 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,920 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,634,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,020,000 after purchasing an additional 156,175 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.5% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 698,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,122,000 after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 25.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 464,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,551,000 after buying an additional 95,144 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.40.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,459,571.64. This trade represents a 25.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,869 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,152 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.3 %

SFM stock opened at $150.15 on Tuesday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.64. The company has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $141.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.75. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share 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.