Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,484 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,614 shares of company stock worth $6,323,731. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM stock opened at $143.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.12, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $148.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.10.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. On average, research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.40.

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.