Thematics Asset Management Has $5.51 Million Stock Position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Thematics Asset Management lessened its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 49,924 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,804 shares during the quarter. Thematics Asset Management’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $5,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth about $349,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 59.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 6,286 shares in the last quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,252,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the second quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the second quarter worth $450,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SFM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $102.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.40.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total value of $198,102.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,262.40. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Scott Neal sold 6,535 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.29, for a total value of $668,465.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,462,030.97. This trade represents a 31.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,051 shares of company stock worth $5,133,932. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.7 %

SFM traded up $2.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $150.46. 167,854 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,332,961. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.13. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.27 and a 1 year high of $150.92.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during 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%. Sprouts Farmers Market’s revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

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.