Amalgamated Bank Decreases Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,780 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $5,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 worth $149,020,000 after acquiring an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $13,348,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $3,252,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $1,517,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $142.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.00. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.46 and a 52 week high of $178.99. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

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.