Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 76,404 Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 361,259 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,404 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Live Nation Entertainment worth $46,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LYV. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Live Nation Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at $255,955,000. ValueAct Holdings L.P. bought a new position in Live Nation Entertainment in the 3rd quarter worth $111,094,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,919,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,592,000 after acquiring an additional 496,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,733,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,946,000 after purchasing an additional 445,704 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of LYV stock opened at $121.00 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.83. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a one year low of $86.81 and a one year high of $157.75. The firm has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by $1.49. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 139.09%. The business had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. On average, analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LYV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $148.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $146.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Live Nation Entertainment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.95, for a total transaction of $61,475.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,624 shares in the company, valued at $6,470,120.80. This represents a 0.94 % 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, CAO Brian Capo sold 5,066 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.24, for a total value of $624,333.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,058.76. The trade was a 32.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,702 shares of company stock valued at $10,497,143. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.