Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 25,452 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Merit Financial Group LLC decreased its position in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 78,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,452 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC owned about 0.08% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $3,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 614.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,039,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,359,000 after buying an additional 2,614,241 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter worth about $23,992,000. California Public Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $20,524,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 3rd quarter worth about $16,682,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 817,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,983,000 after purchasing an additional 143,100 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SFM. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded Sprouts Farmers Market from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $56.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.50.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SFM traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.68. 2,076,372 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,492,326. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.87. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.12 and a 52 week high of $74.03.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total value of $1,978,591.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,125,414.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Nicholas Konat sold 31,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.13, for a total transaction of $1,978,591.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 82,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,125,414.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Fortunato sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.71, for a total value of $828,230.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,395 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,855.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 160,852 shares of company stock valued at $10,032,745. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.