AMF Tjanstepension AB Reduces Stock Holdings in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its Spotify stake by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 78,894 shares and leaving it with 500,000 shares worth about $290.4 million at the end of the period.
• Spotify beat first-quarter expectations, reporting EPS of $4.04 versus the $3.41 consensus and revenue of $5.25 billion, up 8.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on SPOT, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.77, even as several firms trimmed their targets recently.

AMF Tjanstepension AB lowered its position in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 78,894 shares during the quarter. Spotify Technology comprises about 1.8% of AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned approximately 0.24% of Spotify Technology worth $290,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 349.1% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 3,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 508 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Verde Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 5,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,983,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $457,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPOT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Daiwa Securities Group started coverage on shares of Spotify Technology in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $535.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised shares of Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Spotify Technology in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $565.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $645.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total transaction of $8,973,189.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,826,314.24. This represents a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total transaction of $2,606,616.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at $33,560,425.39. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 47,102 shares of company stock worth $21,444,648 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Shares of SPOT stock opened at $444.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $485.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $528.22. Spotify Technology has a 1-year low of $405.00 and a 1-year high of $785.00.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 35.73%. Spotify Technology's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 14.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spotify Technology Company Profile

Spotify Technology is a digital audio streaming company best known for its on-demand music service and a growing portfolio of spoken-word content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched commercially in 2008, the company offers a cross-platform app that enables users to discover, stream and organize music, podcasts and other audio. Its primary consumer products include a free, ad-supported tier and a paid Spotify Premium subscription that provides ad-free listening, offline playback and higher-quality audio streams.

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