Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Stake in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 38,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,184,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPT. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 100.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Sprout Social by 2,392.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprout Social during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Sprout Social from $55.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.85.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

SPT opened at $22.54 on Thursday. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.51 and a 1-year high of $59.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.78 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.35). Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 17.24% and a negative return on equity of 40.94%. The firm had revenue of $107.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.74 million. Research analysts predict that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sprout Social

In other news, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.26, for a total transaction of $151,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $927,922.90. This trade represents a 14.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 23,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total value of $581,218.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,122 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,358.76. This trade represents a 35.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,302,919 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Sprout Social Profile

Sprout Social, Inc designs, develops, and operates a web-based social media management platform in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides cloud software for social messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence, and action.