Baird Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 6,183.8%, holding approximately $21.87 million worth of shares at the end of Q1.
• Major institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Independent Franchise Partners LLP, also significantly increased their stakes in Live Nation for a cumulative institutional ownership of 74.52%.
• Live Nation reported a 16.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $7.01 billion, although its earnings per share fell short of analysts' expectations.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Free Report) by 6,183.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,464 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 164,799 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Live Nation Entertainment worth $21,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,501,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,698,560 shares of the company's stock worth $744,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,574 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,804,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,195,000 after acquiring an additional 884,745 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 83.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,588,983 shares of the company's stock worth $207,490,000 after purchasing an additional 723,112 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,882,872 shares of the company's stock worth $2,596,305,000 after buying an additional 713,020 shares during the period. 74.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of LYV traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $163.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,244,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,440,914. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.22. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.57 and a 1-year high of $167.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.68, a P/E/G ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.42.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.67). The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 105.85% and a net margin of 3.88%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LYV. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna set a $165.00 price objective on Live Nation Entertainment and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Live Nation Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.94.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.