Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Shares Sold by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 881 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 314.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,727,000 after acquiring an additional 169,888 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter worth $544,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 57.0% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 51,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 18,710 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 29.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,507,000 after acquiring an additional 6,871 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,741,491.26. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,459,571.64. This represents a 25.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,869 shares of company stock worth $8,778,152 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

SFM opened at $152.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.74 and a 1-year high of $155.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $141.96 and a 200-day moving average of $120.25. The company has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.02, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SFM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market 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.