Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 814 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 2.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,583 shares of the company’s stock after selling 814 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,107,000 after purchasing an additional 973,666 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,295,000 after buying an additional 593,600 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2,577.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 452,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,980,000 after buying an additional 435,767 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter worth approximately $31,712,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 41.3% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 804,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,271,000 after acquiring an additional 235,100 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,651,373.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total value of $48,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,651,373.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total transaction of $577,628.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,485,650.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,648 shares of company stock worth $5,902,586 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SFM. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $58.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Melius Research started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM stock opened at $146.07 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $40.39 and a fifty-two week high of $148.56. The firm has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.48.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.