Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Has $1.30 Million Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,669 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,506 shares during the quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $1,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the third quarter worth $38,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,425.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on SFM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $127.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprouts Farmers Market currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.40.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM opened at $158.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a PE ratio of 45.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.25. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.81 and a 1-year high of $160.03.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Sprouts Farmers Market’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.89, for a total value of $104,223.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,029.86. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 5,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total transaction of $757,676.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 199,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,463,777.60. This represents a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,869 shares of company stock worth $8,778,152 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Sprouts Farmers Market

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.