Spotify Technology $SPOT Shares Acquired by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank increased its Spotify stake by 157.7% in Q4 to 59,183 shares (an additional 36,216 shares), worth about $34.37 million at quarter-end.
• Two Spotify executives sold stock on April 1: Gustav Söderström sold 20,833 shares for ~$9.86M (reducing his holding by ~50%), and Alex Norström sold 5,436 shares for ~$2.61M (down ~7.2%).
• Spotify beat Q4 estimates, reporting $5.16 EPS vs. $3.16 expected and $5.32B revenue vs. $5.14B, while analysts rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of ~$691.21.

M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 157.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 59,183 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,216 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $34,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,622,298 shares of the company's stock worth $3,226,364,000 after purchasing an additional 48,070 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,730,713 shares of the company's stock worth $1,906,260,000 after purchasing an additional 789,755 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,602,625 shares of the company's stock worth $1,816,632,000 after purchasing an additional 113,612 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 1,803,173 shares of the company's stock worth $1,258,615,000 after purchasing an additional 212,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,640 shares of the company's stock worth $1,080,253,000 after purchasing an additional 192,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Spotify Technology

In other news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.52, for a total value of $9,864,842.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,758,773.68. This represents a 50.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Spotify Technology stock opened at $522.82 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $498.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $554.62. Spotify Technology has a 1-year low of $405.00 and a 1-year high of $785.00. The stock has a market cap of $107.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.70.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $2.00. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 31.35%. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPOT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $615.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $860.00 to $760.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $720.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $735.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued 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 $691.21.

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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