Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 58.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,492 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $5,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,554,000 after purchasing an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,484,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,634,000 after purchasing an additional 56,161 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,034,000 after buying an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,107,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,760,000 after buying an additional 36,255 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $152.64 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. 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 $61.61 and a 52-week high of $178.99.

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

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction 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 approximately $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,755.10. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,784 shares of company stock valued at $13,231,786. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.