Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) is EMC Capital Management's 7th Largest Position

EMC Capital Management lowered its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,581 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,391 shares during the quarter. Sprouts Farmers Market makes up about 1.4% of EMC Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. EMC Capital Management's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $2,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,935 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.74, for a total value of $407,201.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,741,491.26. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,483,669.44. This represents a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,869 shares of company stock valued at $8,778,152 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $119.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SFM opened at $158.06 on Thursday. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.81 and a 1-year high of $155.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.49. The firm has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a PE ratio of 45.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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

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