Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. Sells 2,000 Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM)

Key Points

• Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. reduced its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 41.2%, selling 2,000 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 2,850 shares valued at approximately $435,000.
• Several large investors have increased their stakes in Sprouts Farmers Market, with Whipplewood Advisors LLC raising its holdings by 92.0% and Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increasing by 100.9%.
• Analysts have recently set varied price targets for Sprouts Farmers Market, with Barclays upgrading their target from $173.00 to $185.00, while Roth Capital set a target of $155.00.

Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. lessened its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM - Free Report) by 41.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,850 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc.'s holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 92.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter worth $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 111.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Sprouts Farmers Market by 100.9% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timmi Zalatoris sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.38, for a total transaction of $328,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 13,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,180,171.94. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terri F. Graham sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $230,040.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,923,800. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,504 shares of company stock valued at $9,407,691 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SFM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Sprouts Farmers Market from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.20.

Sprouts Farmers Market Trading Down 1.9%

SFM stock opened at $143.41 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $159.90 and its 200 day moving average is $158.62. The stock has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.78. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.25 and a 1-year high of $182.00.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 36.53%. Sprouts Farmers Market's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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