John Scott Neal Sells 17,721 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) insider John Scott Neal sold 17,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 55.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ SFM opened at $168.68 on Monday. 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. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.15 and a 12-month high of $178.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.82.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $119.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.79.

Institutional Trading of Sprouts Farmers Market

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised 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 bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the 4th 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. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter.

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.