PGGM Investments Has $19.71 Million Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

PGGM Investments lowered its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 43.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 409,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 314,726 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments owned about 0.40% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $19,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 77,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,741,000 after purchasing an additional 7,252 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 571,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,513,000 after purchasing an additional 92,353 shares during the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:SFM traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $66.98. 1,904,901 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,118,783. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $32.12 and a one year high of $68.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.71% and a net margin of 3.79%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total transaction of $1,367,484.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,513.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 3,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.21, for a total value of $240,441.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,084.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 22,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total value of $1,367,484.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,513.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.