North Dakota State Investment Board Purchases Shares of 5,427 Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 5,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LYV. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,725,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,589,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,763,511 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,843,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,733,000 after buying an additional 759,363 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3,475.4% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 609,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,604,000 after buying an additional 592,525 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 127.6% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 814,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,034,000 after buying an additional 456,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 1,853.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 463,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,801,000 after buying an additional 440,148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total value of $10,474,570.24. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 188,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,345,878.57. The trade was a 33.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,798 shares of company stock valued at $26,088,615. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LYV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $181.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.75.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

NYSE LYV opened at $164.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.06 and a beta of 1.11. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.34 and a twelve 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.63 and a 200 day moving average of $149.52.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.79 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.32) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.