Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,727,681 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,001,905 shares during the period. Live Nation Entertainment makes up about 0.8% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Live Nation Entertainment were worth $1,528,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 5.0% in the third quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 102.4% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 22.2% in the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LYV. Bank of America increased their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Friday, February 20th. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Live Nation Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.10.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock opened at $157.90 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $157.30 and a 200-day moving average of $148.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $37.12 billion, a PE ratio of -657.91 and a beta of 1.11. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.34 and a 1-year high of $175.25.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 48.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Nation Entertainment

In other news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $156,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 48,030 shares in the company, valued at $7,966,736.10. This trade represents a 1.93% 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. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.