Sprout Social, Inc. $SPT Shares Purchased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Sprout Social, Inc. by 23% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 60,947 shares valued at approximately $7.16 million.
• Insider transactions reveal significant stock sales, with insider Justyn Russell Howard offloading 20,000 shares at an average price of $14.94, leading to a 72.95% decrease in their ownership position.
• Sprout Social's stock is currently down 5.3% and has a market cap of $802.76 million, with analysts suggesting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.36.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT - Free Report) by 23.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 325,750 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,947 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.56% of Sprout Social worth $7,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SPT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Sprout Social by 391.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 35,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 28,667 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 23,525 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the fourth quarter valued at about $304,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 62,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 19,098 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Sprout Social

In related news, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.05, for a total transaction of $95,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $551,745.15. This represents a 14.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 16,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.16, for a total transaction of $355,488.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 119,775 shares in the company, valued at $2,534,439. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,366 shares of company stock valued at $1,754,519. Company insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Sprout Social Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPT traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $14.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 281,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $851.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.25 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.07 and a 200-day moving average of $19.83. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.33 and a 12-month high of $36.30.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $111.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.93 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 12.70% and a negative return on equity of 25.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SPT. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sprout Social from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.36.

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.