Townsquare Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Townsquare Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,119 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $3,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,438,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,295,000 after buying an additional 593,600 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 167.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,555,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,107,000 after acquiring an additional 973,666 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,148,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,080,000 after acquiring an additional 6,085 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 2.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,053,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,138,000 after purchasing an additional 28,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 983,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,561,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Dustin Hamilton sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $198,102.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,172 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,262.40. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph L. Hurley sold 4,956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.66, for a total value of $657,462.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,184 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,669.44. This trade represents a 30.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,516 shares of company stock worth $4,465,466. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

NASDAQ SFM opened at $154.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.27 and a twelve month high of $155.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.35. The firm has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.54.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly 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 business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Sprouts Farmers Market in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.40.

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.