Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE – Get Rating) by 146.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,805 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,832 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in World Wrestling Entertainment were worth $688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in World Wrestling Entertainment by 112.0% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,227,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,688,000 after purchasing an additional 648,300 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of World Wrestling Entertainment by 3.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,174,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,367,000 after acquiring an additional 38,145 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of World Wrestling Entertainment by 188.2% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,164,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,765,000 after acquiring an additional 760,365 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of World Wrestling Entertainment by 30.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 891,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,636,000 after acquiring an additional 206,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of World Wrestling Entertainment by 6.4% in the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 767,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,931,000 after acquiring an additional 46,351 shares during the last quarter. 69.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WWE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised World Wrestling Entertainment from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Wolfe Research lowered World Wrestling Entertainment from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Loop Capital upped their target price on World Wrestling Entertainment from $90.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Guggenheim upped their target price on World Wrestling Entertainment from $94.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered World Wrestling Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, World Wrestling Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.70.
World Wrestling Entertainment Price Performance
World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $325.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $333.25 million. World Wrestling Entertainment had a net margin of 15.15% and a return on equity of 47.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
World Wrestling Entertainment Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. World Wrestling Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.96%.
World Wrestling Entertainment Profile
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc is an integrated media and entertainment company, which engages in the production and distribution of content through various channels. It operates through the following business segments: Media, Live Events, and Consumer Products. The Media segment reflects the production and monetization of long-form and short-form video content across various platforms including WWE Network, broadcast and pay television, digital and social media, as well as filmed entertainment.
Further Reading
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
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