Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Makes New $2.22 Million Investment in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 62,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned about 0.11% of Sprout Social at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SPT. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in Sprout Social by 2,935.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 208,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,790,000 after acquiring an additional 201,307 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 95,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,885,000 after purchasing an additional 41,834 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Sprout Social by 642.5% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 21,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 18,890 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Sprout Social by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,137,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,625,000 after buying an additional 311,146 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Sprout Social by 2.4% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,593,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,882,000 after buying an additional 61,568 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sprout Social

In other Sprout Social news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 1,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.23, for a total value of $34,520.63. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,122 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,226.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 1,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.23, for a total value of $34,520.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,226.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justyn Russell Howard sold 8,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.27, for a total transaction of $251,575.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 302,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,845,891.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 82,282 shares of company stock valued at $2,670,776. Insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Sprout Social from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.31.

Sprout Social Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPT opened at $27.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.66 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.78. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.68 and a 1-year high of $68.41.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 19.60% and a negative return on equity of 44.38%. The firm had revenue of $99.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.