Jennison Associates LLC Has $66.69 Million Position in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,171,567 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,311 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Sprout Social were worth $66,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SPT. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Sprout Social by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 188,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sprout Social by 324.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,714,000 after purchasing an additional 307,906 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sprout Social by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,199,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,868,000 after acquiring an additional 200,190 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of Sprout Social in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Sprout Social in the third quarter valued at $2,120,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryan Paul Barretto sold 13,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.45, for a total value of $423,474.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 546,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,182,487.35. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karen Walker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.26, for a total value of $151,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $927,922.90. This represents a 14.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,265 shares of company stock valued at $2,533,406. Insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SPT opened at $33.13 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.05. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.05 and a 52 week high of $68.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $102.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.04 million. Sprout Social had a negative return on equity of 40.94% and a negative net margin of 17.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Sprout Social in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Sprout Social from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sprout Social from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Sprout Social from $48.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sprout Social presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.58.

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.