Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its Live Nation Entertainment position by 11.5% in the first quarter, buying 143,432 more shares and bringing its stake to 1,393,745 shares worth about $212.5 million.
• Several analysts raised or reiterated bullish views on LYV, with multiple firms lifting price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $195.95.
• Live Nation reported revenue of $3.79 billion in its latest quarter, topping expectations, but posted an EPS loss of ($1.85), far worse than analysts anticipated; insiders also sold shares during the period.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,393,745 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 143,432 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.59% of Live Nation Entertainment worth $212,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LYV. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,821 shares of the company's stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 312 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on LYV shares. Susquehanna lowered Live Nation Entertainment from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $181.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $181.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.95.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

LYV opened at $177.29 on Friday. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.34 and a twelve month high of $188.00. The firm has a market cap of $41.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -100.16 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.07.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($1.50). Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.32) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value of $15,457,463.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 188,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,345,878.57. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total transaction of $10,474,570.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 204,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,622,555.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Live Nation Entertainment Profile

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.

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