Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 325,636 Shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its position in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,564,758 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325,636 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Sprout Social were worth $78,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 100.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprout Social by 5.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Sprout Social by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 77.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Sprout Social by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 17,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the period.

Sprout Social Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ SPT opened at $21.99 on Tuesday. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.51 and a 1 year high of $59.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.59. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.32 and a beta of 1.11. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $107.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.74 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 40.94% and a negative net margin of 17.24%. Research analysts anticipate that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on SPT. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Sprout Social from $45.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 23,646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 42,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,358.76. This represents a 35.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of Sprout Social stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.26, for a total value of $151,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $927,922.90. This trade represents a 14.02 % 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 90 days. Company insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

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.