Insider Selling: Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) EVP Sells $2,009,506.50 in Stock

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) EVP John Hopmans sold 11,133 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.50, for a total value of $2,009,506.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 163,299 shares in the company, valued at $29,475,469.50. This trade represents a 6.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Down 1.0%

LYV stock traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $178.32. The company had a trading volume of 3,529,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,634,714. The stock has a market cap of $42.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,048.94 and a beta of 1.15. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.34 and a 52 week high of $189.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.28.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $10.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.60 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 55.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYV. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,221,398,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $859,018,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $195,781,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 5,799.1% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 900,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,380,000 after buying an additional 885,524 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the second quarter valued at about $140,911,000. Institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LYV shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Live Nation Entertainment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.14.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is a live entertainment company that promotes concerts, operates and manages venues, and provides ticketing services. Its activities span the live-event process, from helping artists plan and promote tours to connecting fans with events. The company’s businesses include concert promotion and venue operations, ticketing through Ticketmaster, and sponsorship and advertising services for brands seeking to reach live-event audiences. Ticketmaster provides ticket sales and related technology for concerts and other events.