TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) CEO Sells $4,801,821.78 in Stock

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) CEO Ariel Emanuel sold 24,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.39, for a total transaction of $4,801,821.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,888,786.26. This represents a 12.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

TKO Group Stock Performance

Shares of TKO opened at $193.34 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $192.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.59. The stock has a market cap of $36.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.84 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $176.00 and a one year high of $226.94.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. TKO Group had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 2.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that TKO Group Holdings, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

TKO Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from TKO Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. TKO Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TKO shares. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of TKO Group in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded TKO Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Guggenheim upped their price target on TKO Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TKO Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on TKO Group from $225.00 to $222.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TKO Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TKO Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of TKO Group by 108,668.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,268,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,062,000 after buying an additional 1,267,073 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of TKO Group by 20.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,249,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,106,000 after acquiring an additional 887,401 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of TKO Group during the fourth quarter worth $150,602,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of TKO Group by 551.8% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 494,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,059,000 after acquiring an additional 419,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in TKO Group by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,373,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,008,000 after purchasing an additional 395,040 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.79% of the company’s stock.

About TKO Group

TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) is a global sports and entertainment company formed in 2023 through the combination of two major combat-sports businesses. The company brings together the mixed martial arts organization UFC and the sports entertainment business WWE under a single publicly traded holding company. TKO owns and manages a portfolio of live-event franchises, intellectual property, and media rights centered on combat and sports-entertainment content.

TKO’s core activities include the promotion and production of live events, the licensing and sale of broadcasting and streaming rights, and the development and commercialization of branded consumer products.