National Pension Service Has $277.87 Million Position in Spotify Technology $SPOT

National Pension Service grew its stake in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 605,199 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,696 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $277,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Spotify Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Spotify Technology in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Spotify Technology by 423.1% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Spotify Technology during the first quarter worth $34,000. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPOT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Spotify Technology in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Spotify Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.05.

Spotify Technology Stock Down 0.9%

Spotify Technology stock opened at $523.99 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $507.26 and a 200-day moving average of $493.41. Spotify Technology has a twelve month low of $405.00 and a twelve month high of $745.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.59.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 41.39% and a net margin of 18.44%.The company’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.42) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Alex Norström sold 5,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.10, for a total transaction of $2,729,415.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,526,723.30. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Gustav Söderström sold 20,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.24, for a total value of $10,567,330.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,216,828.08. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 52,538 shares of company stock worth $25,878,250 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Spotify Technology Company Profile

Spotify Technology SA is a Luxembourg-based audio streaming company that operates the Spotify platform. The service gives users access to a broad catalog of music, podcasts and audiobooks, with features for searching, discovering, creating and sharing audio content across connected devices.

Spotify offers an ad-supported service at no subscription cost and paid Premium plans that provide additional features, including ad-free listening and offline playback. The company generates revenue primarily through subscriptions and advertising, while working with music labels, publishers, podcast creators and other rights holders to distribute content.

Founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, Spotify launched its streaming service in 2008.