Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV Shares Acquired by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) by 30.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,407 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,716 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Live Nation Entertainment were worth $9,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,727,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,528,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,905 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,733,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,055,000 after purchasing an additional 193,104 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,301,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,707,000 after acquiring an additional 20,165 shares during the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,996,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,195,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,355,000 after acquiring an additional 123,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Live Nation Entertainment news, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total transaction of $10,474,570.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 204,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,622,555.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $15,457,463.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,345,878.57. This trade represents a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LYV. Zacks Research raised shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $199.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $193.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.15.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

LYV traded down $2.90 on Friday, hitting $179.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,631,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,554,460. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $170.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.61. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.34 and a 1-year high of $188.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $42.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.51 and a beta of 1.11.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($1.50). The company had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.32) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Live Nation Entertainment Profile

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.