Hanlon Investment Management Inc. Has $953,000 Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 435 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ SFM opened at $157.27 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.61 and a twelve month 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $151.70 and its 200 day moving average is $141.30.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 99,699 shares of company stock worth $13,969,851. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.00.

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.