Insider Selling: Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Insider Sells $2,851,131.69 in Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.89, for a total value of $2,851,131.69. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,281,098.42. This represents a 55.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $168.68 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.69 and its 200-day moving average is $149.82. The company has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.15 and a 12 month high of $178.99.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,604,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,554,000 after buying an additional 56,652 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,464,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,322,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,481,000 after buying an additional 15,930 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,843,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,231,000 after buying an additional 168,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,582,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,139,000 after buying an additional 294,553 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $155.00 target price on Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.79.

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.