Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 12,180 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 168,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,180 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $21,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SLT Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $828,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 450.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 11,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 9,271 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $819,000. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America raised 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total transaction of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,137,080.80. This trade represents a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,995,193. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.8 %

SFM opened at $136.97 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.42. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.46 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The company has a market cap of $13.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during 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%. Analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS 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.