Ariel Investments LLC Purchases 449,105 Shares of Manchester United Ltd. $MANU

Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Manchester United Ltd. (NYSE:MANU) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,024,434 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 449,105 shares during the period. Manchester United makes up approximately 1.8% of Ariel Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Ariel Investments LLC owned 5.33% of Manchester United worth $160,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MANU. Cooperman Leon G raised its holdings in shares of Manchester United by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 2,839,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,172,000 after buying an additional 238,032 shares in the last quarter. Michelson Medical Research Foundation Inc. bought a new position in Manchester United in the first quarter valued at about $2,618,000. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Manchester United by 28.6% during the first quarter. Breach Inlet Capital Management LLC now owns 854,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,191,000 after acquiring an additional 190,090 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manchester United by 401.6% in the first quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 117,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 94,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Manchester United by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 283,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 93,111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Manchester United in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Manchester United Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MANU opened at $15.40 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Manchester United Ltd. has a 1 year low of $12.05 and a 1 year high of $19.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of -61.58 and a beta of 0.58.

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $219.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.63 million. Manchester United had a negative net margin of 4.92% and a negative return on equity of 9.58%. On average, research analysts forecast that Manchester United Ltd. will post -0.74 EPS for the current year.

About Manchester United

Manchester United plc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a professional sports team in the United Kingdom. It operates Manchester United Football Club, a professional football club. The company develops marketing and sponsorship relationships with international and regional companies to leverage its brand.