Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Stake Lifted by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 196.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,772 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,775 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SFM. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 605 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.8% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,717 shares of the company's stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 23.3% during the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 931 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.8% during the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $145.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 518,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,332,405. The stock has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 42.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.54. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.39 and a 12-month high of $148.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.63 and a 200 day moving average of $95.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.14. The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total value of $577,628.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at $22,485,650.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total transaction of $48,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,651,373.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.09, for a total transaction of $577,628.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,432 shares in the company, valued at $22,485,650.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,648 shares of company stock worth $5,902,586. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $63.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.40.

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.