James Leroy Nielsen Form 4 Sprouts Farmers Market / James Leroy Nielsen ownership change

SEC Form 4

FORM 4

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Nielsen James Leroy

(Last) (First) (Middle)

5455 EAST HIGH STREET

SUITE 111

(Street)

PHOENIX AZ 85054

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. [ SFM ]

5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

	Director	10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)
President & COO

3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
02/23/2016

4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share	02/23/2016		A		8,637(1)	A	$0.00	15,533(2)	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Explanation of Responses:

1. Represents performance share awards granted to the Reporting Person on March 11, 2015 under the Issuer's 2013 Incentive Plan, as amended. On February 23, 2016, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Issuer determined that the performance conditions were met with respect to such performance share awards. 50% of such shares will vest on each of the second and third anniversaries of the grant date, subject to the Reporting Person's continuous service through such dates.

2. In addition to the shares underlying the performance share awards described in footnote 1 above, amount includes 2,457 shares of common stock and 4,439 restricted stock units. Each restricted stock unit represents the right to receive, upon vesting, one share of common stock. These restricted stock units will vest over three years, with one-third vested on March 4, 2015; one-third vesting on March 4, 2016; and the remaining one-third vesting on March 4, 2017, assuming continued employment through such dates.

Remarks:

	/s/ Brandon F. Lombardi, Attorney-in-Fact for James L. Nielsen	02/25/2016
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
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