Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Key Points

• Artisan Partners cut its Live Nation stake by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 382,699 shares and ending with about 1.99 million shares valued at roughly $284 million.
• Several other institutions boosted or initiated positions in LYV, and the stock remains heavily held by institutions and hedge funds at about 74.52% ownership.
• Live Nation recently reported mixed quarterly results: revenue of $3.79 billion beat expectations, but EPS came in at ($1.85), missing estimates by a wide margin. Despite the miss, analysts remain broadly positive, with 20 Buy ratings and an average price target of $188.50.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,993,220 shares of the company's stock after selling 382,699 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.85% of Live Nation Entertainment worth $284,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LYV. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth $285,924,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth $173,380,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 653.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,191,347 shares of the company's stock worth $169,767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,289 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,727,681 shares of the company's stock worth $1,528,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,843,750 shares of the company's stock worth $262,733,000 after acquiring an additional 759,363 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total value of $10,474,570.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 204,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,622,555.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value of $15,457,463.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 188,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LYV opened at $174.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.02 billion, a PE ratio of -98.39 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $163.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.55. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.34 and a 12 month high of $176.00.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) 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 analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 0.15%.The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.32) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on LYV shares. 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 note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $190.00 to $192.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $198.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Live Nation Entertainment has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.50.

Live Nation Entertainment Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LYV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Free Report).

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.