KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Shares in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Sprout Social by 324.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,714,000 after buying an additional 307,906 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Sprout Social in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,074,000. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Sprout Social in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,120,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sprout Social by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,175,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,179,000 after purchasing an additional 22,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 339.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 90,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 69,704 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the director now owns 30,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,922.90. This trade represents a 14.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,720.03. This represents a 84.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 108,646 shares of company stock valued at $3,302,919. 10.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sprout Social Stock Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ SPT opened at $20.22 on Friday. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.21 and a 52 week high of $59.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.85 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Sprout Social from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on 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, Barclays decreased their price target on Sprout Social from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.85.

About Sprout Social

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.