Connors Investor Services Inc. Sells 13,463 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Connors Investor Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 30.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,526 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,463 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter valued at $1,378,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 616,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,748,000 after purchasing an additional 48,225 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 411.4% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,538,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,610 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 158,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,638,000 after purchasing an additional 14,401 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 78.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 26,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SFM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $68.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kim Coffin sold 1,322 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $99,216.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,775. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider David Mcglinchey sold 12,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.01, for a total transaction of $904,328.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,850,768.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kim Coffin sold 1,322 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total transaction of $99,216.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,775. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,147 shares of company stock valued at $4,999,299. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of SFM traded down $0.69 on Friday, reaching $82.02. 604,793 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,126,127. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.55. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.21 and a 52-week high of $86.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.