Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Trims Stock Holdings in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,993,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 382,699 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Live Nation Entertainment were worth $284,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LYV. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. 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 purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 204,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,622,555.84. This represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value of $15,457,463.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,751 shares in the company, valued at $31,345,878.57. The trade was a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock opened at $174.14 on Wednesday. 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 simple moving average is $163.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.39 and a beta of 1.12. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.34 and a twelve month high of $176.00.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 0.15%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.32) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on LYV shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $193.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Live Nation Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.50.

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.