Canon SX740 HS has a
21.0MP 1/2.3 (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features DIGIC 8 processor. On the other hand, Nikon D4 has a
16.0MP Full frame (36 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 3 processor.
Canon SX740 HS's sensor provides 5MP more than Nikon D4's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the SX740 HS and D4 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D4 has a 30.7x Larger sensor area than Canon SX740 HS. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.