Fmr LLC Lowers Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Fmr LLC reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 26.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,903,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,770,543 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $541,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SFM. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 593,600 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,980,000 after purchasing an additional 435,767 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,712,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 41.3% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 804,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,271,000 after purchasing an additional 235,100 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total transaction of $577,628.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,485,650.88. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,516 shares of company stock worth $4,465,466 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $151.97 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $41.27 and a 52 week high of $154.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $125.28 and its 200 day moving average is $101.00. The company has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.92, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released 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. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

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.