Insider Selling: Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) VP Sells 229 Shares of Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total value of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,811.18. The trade was a 2.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $142.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. 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 50-day simple moving average of $150.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.50. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.61 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. The business 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%. Analysts predict 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

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SFM shares. StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company 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 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market currently 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.