Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 6,615 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,615 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $4,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SFM. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ SFM opened at $154.48 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $41.27 and a one year high of $155.64. The company has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total value of $577,628.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at $22,485,650.88. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total transaction of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,516 shares of company stock valued at $4,465,466 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

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.