Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 20,980 Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group reduced its Live Nation stake by 17.4% in the second quarter, selling 20,980 shares and retaining 99,614 shares valued at approximately $18.24 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.52% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with 20 Buy ratings, three Holds and one Sell. Live Nation has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $197.19.
• Live Nation exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.05 in EPS versus $0.66 expected and $7.67 billion in revenue, up 9.4% year over year. Shares opened at $170.14, below their 52-week high of $189.24.

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Free Report) by 17.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,614 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,980 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Live Nation Entertainment were worth $18,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 21,068 shares of the company's stock worth $3,858,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 5.0% during the third quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,821 shares of the company's stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LYV. Zacks Research raised shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $199.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $197.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Live Nation Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.19.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LYV opened at $170.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $40.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -150.57 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $180.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.07. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a one year low of $125.34 and a one year high of $189.24.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.39. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.34% and a return on equity of 54.61%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Live Nation Entertainment's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Nation Entertainment

In related news, CAO Brian Capo sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $533,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,592,520. The trade was a 25.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc is a global live entertainment company that produces, promotes and operates concerts, music festivals and other live events. Through its concert promotion business, the company works with artists and venues to organize events across a broad range of music genres.

The company also operates Ticketmaster, a ticketing platform that provides ticket sales, distribution and related technology for concerts, sports and other events. In addition, Live Nation manages and operates entertainment venues and provides sponsorship and advertising services that connect brands with live audiences.

Live Nation was formed in 2005 through the combination of Clear Channel Entertainment's live entertainment business and Live Nation.

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