Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 8,000 Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Live Nation Entertainment, buying 8,000 shares valued at about $1.22 million in the first quarter.
• Live Nation reported mixed quarterly results: revenue of $3.79 billion beat estimates and rose 12.1% year over year, but EPS came in at ($1.85), well below expectations.
• Analysts remain generally positive on LYV, with 20 Buy ratings and an average price target of $188.50, while recent insider sales by two EVPs reduced their ownership stakes.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,843,750 shares of the company's stock worth $262,733,000 after purchasing an additional 759,363 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,301,900 shares of the company's stock worth $610,707,000 after buying an additional 20,165 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 780.1% during the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 22,143 shares of the company's stock worth $3,155,000 after buying an additional 19,627 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 35,019 shares of the company's stock worth $5,722,000 after buying an additional 14,470 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 607,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,227,000 after acquiring an additional 78,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.52% of the company's stock.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of LYV opened at $186.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.83 and a 200 day moving average of $157.11. The company has a market capitalization of $43.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.13 and a beta of 1.11. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.34 and a 12 month high of $187.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($1.50). Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 0.15%.The business had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.32) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LYV. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $181.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Live Nation Entertainment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.50.

Insider Transactions at Live Nation Entertainment

In related news, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 188,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,345,878.57. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total value 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 trade 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.

About Live Nation Entertainment

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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