Insider Selling: Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) CEO Sells $584,062.32 in Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) CEO Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.14, for a total transaction of $584,062.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 269,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,616,717.20. The trade was a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Jack Sinclair also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, October 5th, Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.48, for a total transaction of $695,610.24.
• On Friday, October 2nd, Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $698,738.76.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Jack Sinclair sold 10,788 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.66, for a total value of $891,736.08.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock traded down $2.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,603,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,539,192. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.76. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.35 and a 12-month high of $94.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.75.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 33.83% and a net margin of 5.45%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Bank of America downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $111.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,614,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 37.4% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 228,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,155,000 after acquiring an additional 62,133 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 61,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,836 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Ballast Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,410,000.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc (NASDAQ:SFM) is a specialty grocery retailer focused on fresh, natural and organic foods. Its stores offer a broad selection of fresh produce, meat and seafood, dairy products, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, pantry staples, bakery items, deli products and prepared foods. The company emphasizes products that support healthy eating, including organic, plant-based and specialty-diet options.

Founded in 2002, Sprouts Farmers Market grew from its first store in Chandler, Arizona, into a national grocery chain.