MML Investors Services LLC Sells 140 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

MML Investors Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,278 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 46.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 30,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,592,000 after buying an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 6,085 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 135.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 69,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,846,000 after purchasing an additional 40,212 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SFM. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $129.40 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.57. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.63 and a 52-week high of $155.64.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.99, for a total transaction of $794,188.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 158,148 shares in the company, valued at $21,980,990.52. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,700,629.01. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,569 shares of company stock valued at $9,117,886 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.