Joseph D. O’leary Sells 2,000 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Director Joseph D. O’leary sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.40, for a total transaction of $318,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,201.40. This trade represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of SFM stock opened at $161.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.12. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.15 and a fifty-two week high of $178.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SFM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $163.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.79.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period.

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.