Allstate Corp Grows Stake in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its stake in Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter, buying an additional 6,503 shares and bringing its total to 12,872 shares valued at about $1.83 million.
• Institutional interest in Live Nation remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 74.52% of the stock. Several firms increased their positions, including Bessemer Group and Principal Financial Group.
• Live Nation posted better-than-expected revenue of $3.79 billion in its latest quarter, but earnings missed estimates with EPS of ($1.85). Analysts remain mostly bullish, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $187.75.

Allstate Corp lifted its position in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Free Report) by 102.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,872 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,503 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Live Nation Entertainment were worth $1,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,843,750 shares of the company's stock worth $262,733,000 after purchasing an additional 759,363 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 22.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,725,776 shares of the company's stock worth $1,589,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,763,511 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 51.1% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 11,141 shares of the company's stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 8.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 334,934 shares of the company's stock worth $54,728,000 after purchasing an additional 26,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 70.4% during the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 35,019 shares of the company's stock worth $5,722,000 after purchasing an additional 14,470 shares in the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $198.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Monday, March 30th. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.75.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Up 0.3%

LYV stock opened at $167.05 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $159.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.34 and a 52-week high of $175.25. The firm has a market cap of $39.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.38 and a beta of 1.11.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($1.50). The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 0.15%.The company's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.32) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Live Nation Entertainment

In other Live Nation Entertainment news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 944 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $156,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,966,736.10. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $15,457,463.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,345,878.57. The trade was a 33.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 157,798 shares of company stock valued at $26,088,615. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company's core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry's largest ticketing platforms.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.