19,036 Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Bought by Weiss Asset Management LP

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,102,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SFM. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 605 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,717 shares of the company's stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

NASDAQ SFM traded down $0.67 on Friday, hitting $151.04. 1,114,631 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,285,340. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.65. The company has a market cap of $15.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.58. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.29 and a 1-year high of $155.64.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.41, for a total transaction of $642,310.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,718,959.64. This trade represents a 2.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph D. O'leary sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.11, for a total transaction of $52,538.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,700,629.01. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,152 shares of company stock valued at $3,940,377 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFM has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Melius Research started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.40.

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.