Covestor Ltd Sells 78 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Covestor Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $67,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 223.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at about $60,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SFM. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kristen E. Blum sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 51,627 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,700. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total transaction of $48,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,651,373.76. The trade was a 1.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,648 shares of company stock worth $5,902,586. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $141.83 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $117.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.15. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.39 and a 52 week high of $148.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.99, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 28.24%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.