Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Private Client Services LLC

Private Client Services LLC lowered its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,920 shares during the quarter. Private Client Services LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,107,000 after purchasing an additional 973,666 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,980,000 after acquiring an additional 435,767 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,712,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 314.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,727,000 after acquiring an additional 169,888 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.60, for a total transaction of $104,625.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,868,513.60. This represents a 3.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,855 shares of company stock worth $8,475,575. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM traded up $0.88 on Wednesday, reaching $139.82. The company had a trading volume of 464,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,989. 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 1 year low of $48.73 and a 1 year high of $155.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a PE ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $140.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.85.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

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.