Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of TKO Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 469,289 shares of the company's stock worth $66,691,000 after purchasing an additional 16,536 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in TKO Group by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,836,000 after buying an additional 3,572 shares in the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of TKO Group by 147.0% during the fourth quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 123,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,581,000 after purchasing an additional 73,617 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of TKO Group during the fourth quarter valued at $431,000. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of TKO Group by 1,625.0% during the fourth quarter. Moore Capital Management LP now owns 418,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,443,000 after purchasing an additional 394,038 shares during the last quarter. 89.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TKO Group Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE TKO traded down $1.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $162.92. 503,130 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,116,554. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.76 and a fifty-two week high of $179.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a PE ratio of -387.90 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $158.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.67.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. TKO Group had a positive return on equity of 3.39% and a negative net margin of 1.26%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.26) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that TKO Group Holdings, Inc. will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

TKO Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. TKO Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.16%.

Insider Transactions at TKO Group

In other news, Director Sonya E. Medina purchased 233 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $142.93 per share, with a total value of $33,302.69. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $285,860. This trade represents a 13.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lake West Voteco L.L.C Silver purchased 1,579,080 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $158.32 per share, with a total value of $249,999,945.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,158,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,376,411.44. This represents a 61.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 1,580,293 shares of company stock valued at $250,199,446 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 53.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TKO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna initiated coverage on TKO Group in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "positive" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of TKO Group in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on TKO Group from $170.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of TKO Group in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on TKO Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.08.

About TKO Group

TKO Group Holdings, Inc operates as a sports and entertainment company. The company produces and licenses live events, television programs, and long-form and short-form content, reality series, and other filmed entertainment on digital and linear channels and via pay-per-view. It is involved in the merchandising of video games, apparel, equipment, trading cards, memorabilia, digital goods, and toys, as well as sale of travel packages and tickets.