Federated Hermes Inc. Makes New $5.35 Million Investment in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Sprout Social, purchasing 243,460 shares valued at approximately $5.35 million, representing about 0.42% of the company.
• Insider activity includes CEO Ryan Paul Barretto selling 16,800 shares, reducing his stake by 12.3%, while Director Karen Walker decreased her holdings by 14.72% after selling 5,000 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Sprout Social, with a consensus target price of $29.17, and research reports reflecting a range of ratings from 'sell' to 'buy'.

Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 243,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,354,000. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Sprout Social as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Sprout Social by 1,319.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 19,500.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 8,970 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Sprout Social in the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sprout Social by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,499 shares of the company's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Sprout Social during the 4th quarter worth about $304,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SPT. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $32.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprout Social

In other news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total transaction of $355,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 119,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,534,439. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justyn Russell Howard sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $844,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,647.04. This trade represents a 84.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,375 shares of company stock worth $2,389,535. Insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Sprout Social Stock Down 6.6%

NASDAQ SPT traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $14.99. 997,486 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 682,034. The stock has a market capitalization of $872.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.42 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day moving average is $19.95 and its 200-day moving average is $23.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Sprout Social, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.59 and a twelve month high of $36.30.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $111.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.93 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 31.03% and a negative net margin of 14.25%. The business's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Sprout Social Company 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.