HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Position in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,829 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Live Nation Entertainment were worth $25,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LYV. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth $773,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 3,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Down 0.1%

LYV opened at $165.74 on Friday. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.34 and a 12 month high of $175.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $158.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.75. The company has a market cap of $39.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations 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 was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.32) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 188,751 shares in the company, valued at $31,345,878.57. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total transaction of $10,474,570.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 204,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,622,555.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,798 shares of company stock valued at $26,088,615. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LYV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $164.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Live Nation Entertainment from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.75.

Live Nation Entertainment Company 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.