Dorsey Wright & Associates Acquires 33,011 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Dorsey Wright & Associates lifted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 106.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,073 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,011 shares during the period. Sprouts Farmers Market makes up about 1.7% of Dorsey Wright & Associates' holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Dorsey Wright & Associates owned 0.06% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $7,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,718,959.64. This represents a 2.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $198,102.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,596,262.40. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,152 shares of company stock valued at $3,940,377. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SFM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:SFM traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.04. 1,114,631 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,285,340. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.65, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.58. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.29 and a 12-month high of $155.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.83.

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

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.