Douglas Gregory Rauch Sells 700 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stock

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

SFM traded down $1.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $147.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 798,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company's fifty day moving average price is $134.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.33. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.74 and a 52-week high of $155.64. The company has a market capitalization of $14.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.58.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 28.24% and a net margin of 4.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sprouts Farmers Market

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 59.8% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 6,286 shares in the last quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth $3,252,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 2nd quarter worth about $623,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,561,000 after acquiring an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter.

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.

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