Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Insider Sells $143,743.05 in Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 1,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.97, for a total value of $143,743.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,755.10. This trade represents a 9.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Timmi Zalatoris also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 17th, Timmi Zalatoris sold 775 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $106,500.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 2.3 %

SFM stock traded down $3.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $137.81. 904,025 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,316,725. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.46 and a 52-week high of $178.99. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $150.81 and a 200-day moving average of $134.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,034,000 after buying an additional 632,523 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,117,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,946,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SFM. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $132.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.92.

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.