Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Axiom Investors LLC DE

Axiom Investors LLC DE lessened its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 72.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,739 shares of the company’s stock after selling 133,552 shares during the quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $6,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total transaction of $61,151.90. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. This trade represents a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total transaction of $407,201.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,784 shares of company stock worth $13,231,786. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM opened at $147.76 on Monday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.61 and a 12 month high of $178.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.71. The company has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $163.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

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.