Spotify Technology $SPOT Shares Purchased by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its Spotify Technology stake by 42% in the fourth quarter, adding 7,913 shares and bringing its total to 26,748 shares worth about $15.5 million.
• Spotify continues to see broad institutional ownership, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 84.09% of the company’s stock, while several firms also boosted positions during the quarter.
• Analysts remain largely bullish on SPOT: recent price-target hikes from firms like Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan left the stock with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $655.92.

Prudential PLC boosted its position in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 42.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,748 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,913 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $15,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 384 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 364 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 90.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Spotify Technology by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,818 shares of the company's stock worth $3,959,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Spotify Technology by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SPOT. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spotify Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $565.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $655.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.52, for a total transaction of $10,344,001.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,376 shares in the company, valued at $10,117,091.52. This represents a 50.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total transaction of $2,606,616.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 69,989 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 111,442 shares of company stock valued at $54,647,508 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Spotify Technology Stock Performance

Shares of Spotify Technology stock opened at $497.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.36 billion, a PE ratio of 39.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $481.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.08. Spotify Technology has a 1 year low of $405.00 and a 1 year high of $785.00.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Spotify Technology will post 14.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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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