Mariner LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Mariner LLC lowered its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,508 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,886 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SFM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $167.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of SFM traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $169.76. 2,465,388 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,422,340. The company has a market cap of $16.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.02 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.82. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.07. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.96 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total transaction of $488,379.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at $24,070,304.26. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.80, for a total value of $724,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,137,080.80. The trade was a 14.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,764 shares of company stock worth $13,562,649 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.