Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) Trading Down 2.1% on Insider Selling

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) shares traded down 2.1% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $39.92 and last traded at $39.92. 103,160 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 1,527,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.79.

Specifically, SVP Kim Coffin sold 7,286 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $295,665.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,190.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 7,286 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $295,665.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,190.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Scott Neal sold 58,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.03, for a total transaction of $2,221,978.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $486,061.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,349 shares of company stock valued at $2,656,176. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on SFM shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Saturday, August 19th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Down 3.5 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.16 and a 200-day moving average of $35.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 3.86%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 85,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 14,008 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 57.2% during the first quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.2% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Matisse Capital purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $646,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Advisors MI purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $210,000.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, retails fresh, natural, and organic food products in the United States. It provides perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat, 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.