Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 16,300 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 142,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,300 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Sprouts Farmers Market worth $21,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market by 1,033.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,476,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,097 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market in the 4th quarter valued at $143,113,000. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,298,768 shares of the company's stock worth $165,034,000 after acquiring an additional 632,523 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market in the fourth quarter valued at $64,117,000. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market during the fourth quarter worth about $53,946,000.

Insider Transactions at Sprouts Farmers Market

In other Sprouts Farmers Market news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 736 shares of Sprouts Farmers Market stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.45, for a total transaction of $101,163.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,883.75. The trade was a 5.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy W. Hilgendorf sold 229 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.43, for a total transaction of $31,929.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,425,811.18. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 82,852 shares of company stock worth $13,219,431. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $167.79.

Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ SFM traded up $2.85 during trading on Monday, hitting $160.77. The stock had a trading volume of 934,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,008. The company has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.31 and a 12 month high of $182.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $164.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.02. 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 (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 29.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 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.