Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,558,604 Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. $LYV

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) by 99.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,466 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,558,604 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Live Nation Entertainment were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LYV. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 102.4% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 278 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $15,457,463.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 188,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,345,878.57. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total value of $10,474,570.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 204,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,622,555.84. This trade represents a 23.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,798 shares of company stock valued at $26,088,615. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of LYV opened at $168.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.11 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.34 and a 1 year high of $175.25.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.32) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Live Nation Entertainment Company 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.