Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Spotify by 12.9% in Q4, acquiring 73,722 shares to own 645,196 shares worth about $374.7 million (≈0.31% of the company).
• Spotify beat the quarter with EPS $4.04 vs. $3.41 expected and revenue of $5.25 billion (up 8.2% YoY), but analysts have trimmed price targets (average target ≈ $645.77) amid mixed sentiment.
• Company insiders sold sizable blocks (Alex Norstrom and Gustav Söderström sold a combined ~26,269 shares), leaving insider ownership at 0.40% while institutional investors hold about 84.09%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 645,196 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 73,722 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.31% of Spotify Technology worth $374,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 3,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spotify Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 2,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 52 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spotify Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $830.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $565.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $745.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson started coverage on shares of Spotify Technology in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $487.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $645.77.

Spotify Technology Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE SPOT opened at $438.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.20 billion, a PE ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $499.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $545.05. Spotify Technology has a 12-month low of $405.00 and a 12-month high of $785.00.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.63. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. Spotify Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total transaction of $2,606,616.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at $33,560,425.39. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.52, for a total transaction of $9,864,842.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,758,773.68. The trade was a 50.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Spotify Technology Profile

Spotify Technology is a digital audio streaming company best known for its on-demand music service and a growing portfolio of spoken-word content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched commercially in 2008, the company offers a cross-platform app that enables users to discover, stream and organize music, podcasts and other audio. Its primary consumer products include a free, ad-supported tier and a paid Spotify Premium subscription that provides ad-free listening, offline playback and higher-quality audio streams.

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