Verus Capital Partners LLC Decreases Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,423 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,291 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.5% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,488 shares of the company's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 22.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,181,000 after acquiring an additional 14,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the 1st quarter worth $167,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of 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 assumed coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $90.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded down $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $146.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,099,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,308. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.54. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a one year low of $40.39 and a one year high of $148.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $1,527,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,459,571.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 500 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.52, for a total transaction of $48,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,651,373.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 11,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $1,527,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,459,571.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,648 shares of company stock worth $5,902,586. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Company 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.