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

Inspire Advisors LLC cut its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,945 shares of the company’s stock after selling 605 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,107,000 after buying an additional 973,666 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 593,600 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 9.8% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,336,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,419,000 after purchasing an additional 297,067 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 41.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 314.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,727,000 after purchasing an additional 169,888 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM stock opened at $115.80 on Friday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $39.76 and a one year high of $117.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $105.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.16. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 56,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $5,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,089,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 7,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.38, for a total transaction of $776,710.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,434,084.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 56,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $5,680,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,142 shares of company stock valued at $12,401,112 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Melius Research began coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $89.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.80.

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.