Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 339 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Shell Asset Management Co. lessened its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth $53,000.

Insider Activity

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.14, for a total value of $2,298,340.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,817,839.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brandon F. Lombardi sold 5,174 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.97, for a total transaction of $387,894.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,718.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.14, for a total transaction of $2,298,340.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,495 shares in the company, valued at $3,817,839.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,147 shares of company stock valued at $4,999,299 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM traded up $2.32 on Friday, reaching $85.53. 322,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,050. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.55. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.21 and a fifty-two week high of $86.04.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

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.