Smartsheet Inc (NYSE:SMAR) Shares Bought by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV increased its stake in Smartsheet Inc (NYSE:SMAR) by 224.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 348,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 240,800 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Smartsheet were worth $19,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Smartsheet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,388,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Smartsheet by 188.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,349,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,844,000 after acquiring an additional 881,004 shares in the last quarter. Engaged Capital LLC bought a new position in Smartsheet during the second quarter worth $29,600,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Smartsheet by 40.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,835,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,931,000 after purchasing an additional 533,278 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Smartsheet during the second quarter valued at $21,254,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on SMAR shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Smartsheet in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.50 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of Smartsheet in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $56.50 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Smartsheet in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $56.50 price objective (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Smartsheet in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Smartsheet in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.82.

Smartsheet Stock Performance

SMAR opened at $55.87 on Friday. Smartsheet Inc has a 1-year low of $35.52 and a 1-year high of $56.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.66.

Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $276.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.23 million. Smartsheet had a negative return on equity of 4.29% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Smartsheet Inc will post -0.05 EPS for the current year.

Smartsheet announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Smartsheet news, COO Stephen Robert Branstetter sold 1,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $97,891.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 64,215 shares in the company, valued at $3,403,395. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jolene Lau Marshall sold 3,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $180,656.89. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,529 shares in the company, valued at $684,432.11. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,989 shares of company stock worth $2,068,874. Corporate insiders own 4.52% of the company’s stock.

About Smartsheet

Smartsheet, Inc engages in managing and automating collaborative work. Its platform provides solutions that eliminate the obstacles to capturing information, including a familiar and intuitive spreadsheet interface as well as easily customizable forms. The company was founded by W. Eric Browne, Maria Colacurcio, John D.