Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Director Joe Fortunato Sells 5,000 Shares

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,137,080.80. This trade represents a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.8 %

SFM stock traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $136.97. 2,433,071 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,572,619. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.46 and a 1-year high of $178.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.63. 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 issued 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% during 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 in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SFM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.00.

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.