Alisa Gmelich Sells 445 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,595.12. The trade was a 9.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $3.01 on Wednesday, hitting $140.82. 1,121,000 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,650. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.46 and a 52 week high of $178.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.21. The company has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.45, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SFM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,161,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,349,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,020,000 after buying an additional 156,175 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,348,000. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,517,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the period.

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.