Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 2,628 Shares of Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its Spotify stake by 40.8% in Q1, selling 2,628 shares and ending with 3,813 shares valued at about $1.85 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted positions, and 84.09% of Spotify stock is owned by institutions, highlighting heavy institutional interest in the name.
• Spotify reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $4.04 versus $3.41 expected and revenue of $5.25 billion, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating with a consensus price target of $641.83.

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 40.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,813 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,628 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $1,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Spotify Technology by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 645,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,672,000 after purchasing an additional 73,722 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its stake in Spotify Technology by 2,515.9% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 5,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,251,000 after buying an additional 5,384 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 8.2% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 80,285 shares of the company's stock worth $56,039,000 after buying an additional 6,100 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,602,625 shares of the company's stock worth $1,816,632,000 after buying an additional 113,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 101.3% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 101,829 shares of the company's stock worth $71,077,000 after buying an additional 51,247 shares during the period. 84.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SPOT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group started coverage on shares of Spotify Technology in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Pivotal Research decreased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $430.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $641.83.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Shares of Spotify Technology stock opened at $461.07 on Tuesday. Spotify Technology has a 1 year low of $405.00 and a 1 year high of $778.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $475.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $501.24. The company has a market capitalization of $94.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.56.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 15.56%.The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. Spotify Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas O. Staggs sold 5,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.00, for a total transaction of $2,880,902.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,903,594. This represents a 60.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon sold 35,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.73, for a total transaction of $18,600,327.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,355,734.59. This represents a 84.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,442 shares of company stock worth $54,647,508. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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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