Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,713 shares of the company’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SFM. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,191,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,845,000. MONECO Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 26,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,601.8% in the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 61,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 57,728 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total value of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,700,629.01. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.24, for a total value of $4,477,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,454,764.88. This trade represents a 15.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,614 shares of company stock valued at $6,323,731 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on SFM shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northcoast Research upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of SFM stock opened at $148.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.62. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.46 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. Research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.