Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 5,413 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 43.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,413 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter valued at about $349,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 59.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 6,286 shares during the period. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,252,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter valued at approximately $450,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total value of $577,628.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,485,650.88. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,700. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,648 shares of company stock worth $5,902,586. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $142.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.54. 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 twelve month low of $40.39 and a twelve month high of $148.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $118.29 and its 200 day moving average is $96.67.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America increased 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

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.