California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 281,770 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,784 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.12% of Live Nation Entertainment worth $36,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,302,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $945,635,000 after buying an additional 105,648 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,763,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,664,000 after acquiring an additional 321,832 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,977,411 shares of the company's stock worth $385,575,000 after acquiring an additional 15,891 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,733,176 shares of the company's stock worth $353,946,000 after purchasing an additional 445,704 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,955,000. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LYV shares. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $149.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $148.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.33.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

NYSE:LYV traded down $1.79 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $119.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,658,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,257,682. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.81 and a fifty-two week high of $157.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $27.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's 50 day moving average is $136.73 and its 200-day moving average is $129.93.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.93) by $1.49. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 139.09% and a net margin of 3.90%. The firm had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.67 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 500 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.95, for a total value of $61,475.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,470,120.80. The trade was a 0.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.40, for a total value of $9,811,334.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 195,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,356,768.40. The trade was a 24.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,702 shares of company stock worth $10,497,143 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.72% of the company's stock.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.