Swedbank AB Boosts Stake in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its Spotify stake by 37.9% in Q4 to 1,616,321 shares (adding 444,162 shares), making SPOT roughly 0.9% of Swedbank’s portfolio and representing about $938.6M of its holdings.
• Spotify beat estimates for the quarter with EPS of $4.04 vs. $3.41 consensus and revenue of $5.25B (up 8.2% YoY); analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $645.77.
• Insiders sold material stakes on April 1—CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares (~$9.86M) and Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares (~$2.61M)—while institutional investors own about 84.09% of SPOT and insiders hold 0.40%.

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 37.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,616,321 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 444,162 shares during the quarter. Spotify Technology accounts for about 0.9% of Swedbank AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Swedbank AB owned 0.79% of Spotify Technology worth $938,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SPOT. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Spotify Technology in the third quarter worth $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its position in Spotify Technology by 3,800.0% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Spotify Technology during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Spotify Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SPOT opened at $419.47 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $498.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $543.26. Spotify Technology has a fifty-two week low of $405.00 and a fifty-two week high of $785.00. The company has a market cap of $86.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.55.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Spotify Technology will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPOT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Spotify Technology in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $630.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa Securities Group initiated coverage on Spotify Technology in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $535.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $670.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup raised Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $735.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spotify Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $645.77.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $473.52, for a total value of $9,864,842.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,758,773.68. This represents a 50.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total value of $2,606,616.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

About Spotify Technology

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SPOT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.