Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 6,444 Shares of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. $TKO

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) by 354.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,260 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,444 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in TKO Group were worth $1,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TKO. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of TKO Group by 5.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 128,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,414,000 after purchasing an additional 6,239 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in TKO Group by 39.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 251,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,679,000 after buying an additional 70,511 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in TKO Group by 461.4% in the 2nd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 12,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after buying an additional 10,151 shares during the last quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in TKO Group by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC now owns 564,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,640,000 after acquiring an additional 116,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in TKO Group during the 2nd quarter worth $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TKO Group news, CFO Shane Kapral sold 254 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.82, for a total transaction of $48,976.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,774 shares in the company, valued at $342,062.68. This trade represents a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter C. B. Bynoe purchased 740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $203.00 per share, for a total transaction of $150,220.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,961. This trade represents a 16.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,815,989. 61.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TKO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of TKO Group from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of TKO Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of TKO Group from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on TKO Group from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Arete Research raised TKO Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.85.

TKO Group Stock Up 3.1%

TKO Group stock opened at $200.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $189.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.07 and a twelve month high of $212.49. The company has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.00 and a beta of 0.65.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.11). TKO Group had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 2.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. TKO Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that TKO Group Holdings, Inc. will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

TKO Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

TKO Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from TKO Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. TKO Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.48%.

TKO Group Profile

TKO Group Holdings, Inc operates as a sports and entertainment company. The company produces and licenses live events, television programs, and long-form and short-form content, reality series, and other filmed entertainment on digital and linear channels and via pay-per-view. It is involved in the merchandising of video games, apparel, equipment, trading cards, memorabilia, digital goods, and toys, as well as sale of travel packages and tickets.