Mark Shapiro Sells 19,120 Shares of TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) Stock

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) insider Mark Shapiro sold 19,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.39, for a total transaction of $3,716,736.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 147,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,589,131.69. This trade represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

TKO Group Stock Down 3.0%

TKO opened at $195.54 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.61. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.00 and a 52 week high of $226.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $37.01 billion, a PE ratio of 68.61 and a beta of 0.63.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.07). TKO Group had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 4.33%.The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that TKO Group Holdings, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TKO Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from TKO Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. TKO Group’s payout ratio is 110.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TKO Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of TKO Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TKO Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of TKO Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $237.00 price objective on shares of TKO Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TKO Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TKO Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of TKO Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TKO Group by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in TKO Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in TKO Group by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial River Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of TKO Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 89.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TKO Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting TKO Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s generally favorable view is supported by TKO’s UFC and WWE media-rights agreements. The UFC’s $7.7 billion Paramount agreement could expand distribution and reduce barriers for viewers, while WWE’s $1.6 billion ESPN deal may provide recurring content revenue, broader reach and potential pricing power. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $238.08. TKO Group Holdings: WWE And UFC Are The Jewels
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ariel Emanuel, CFO Andrew M. Schleimer, director Nick Khan and insider Mark S. Shapiro collectively sold approximately $13.4 million of TKO shares on August 18–19. The SEC filings identify the transactions as sales to cover tax-withholding obligations connected with vested equity awards, rather than discretionary sales. Each executive retained a substantial stake after the transactions. Ariel Emanuel SEC filing Andrew Schleimer SEC filing Nick Khan SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: The concentration of sales by senior executives may still weigh on sentiment and create modest technical selling pressure, even though the transactions were tax-related. Director Nick Khan separately sold 6,546 shares for about $1.3 million on August 19, following an additional 8,248-share sale the previous day. TKO also trades at roughly 69–71 times earnings, leaving the stock vulnerable if UFC deal-related margin pressure or slower-than-expected WWE subscriber growth undermines its growth outlook.

TKO Group Company Profile

TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) is a global sports and entertainment company formed in 2023 through the combination of two major combat-sports businesses. The company brings together the mixed martial arts organization UFC and the sports entertainment business WWE under a single publicly traded holding company. TKO owns and manages a portfolio of live-event franchises, intellectual property, and media rights centered on combat and sports-entertainment content.

TKO’s core activities include the promotion and production of live events, the licensing and sale of broadcasting and streaming rights, and the development and commercialization of branded consumer products.