Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Flutter Entertainment PLC $FLUT

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Flutter by 9.0% in Q4, selling 1,573,564 shares and leaving it with 15,985,790 shares (about 9.12% of the company) valued at roughly $3.44 billion.
• Flutter missed quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.74 vs. $2.11 and revenue of $4.76 billion vs. $4.87 billion expected, though revenue rose 24.9% year-over-year; the board also authorized a $250 million buyback (about 1.3% of shares).
• Top executives (CEO and CFO) sold shares on March 11, reducing insider ownership, while analysts have trimmed price targets though the consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $209.29.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,985,790 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,573,564 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.12% of Flutter Entertainment worth $3,437,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 219.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Flutter Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flutter Entertainment by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 143 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter.

Flutter Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLUT opened at $108.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.55, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Flutter Entertainment PLC has a one year low of $98.88 and a one year high of $313.68. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $109.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.17.

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE:FLUT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.11 by ($0.37). Flutter Entertainment had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 1.89%.The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. Flutter Entertainment's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Flutter Entertainment PLC will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flutter Entertainment announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Flutter Entertainment news, CEO Amy Howe sold 8,895 shares of Flutter Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.91, for a total transaction of $942,069.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,889 shares in the company, valued at $8,355,133.99. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Coldrake sold 4,613 shares of Flutter Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $491,053.85. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,138.70. This represents a 31.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,834 shares of company stock worth $1,900,331 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FLUT. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Flutter Entertainment from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Flutter Entertainment from $195.00 to $188.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Moffett Nathanson lowered Flutter Entertainment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $127.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Flutter Entertainment from $216.00 to $189.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Flutter Entertainment from $160.00 to $143.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.29.

Flutter Entertainment Company Profile

Flutter Entertainment plc is a global sports betting and gaming company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing brands and digital platforms. The company's primary activities include online sports betting, casino gaming, poker, and daily fantasy sports, delivered through web and mobile applications as well as retail betting locations in select markets. Flutter focuses on product development, customer acquisition and engagement, and compliance with local gambling regulations across the jurisdictions where it operates.

Flutter's brand portfolio includes well-known names in different regional markets, such as FanDuel in the United States, PokerStars, Betfair, Paddy Power and Sky Betting & Gaming in Europe and elsewhere.

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