Ariel Emanuel Sells 24,702 Shares of TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) Stock

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) CEO Ariel Emanuel sold 24,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.39, for a total value of $4,801,821.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,888,786.26. The trade was a 12.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

TKO Group Stock Performance

Shares of TKO Group stock opened at $195.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.61 and a beta of 0.63. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.00 and a 12 month high of $226.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.07). TKO Group had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 4.33%.The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that TKO Group Holdings, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

TKO Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from TKO Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. TKO Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 110.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi increased its position in TKO Group by 338.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TKO Group by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of TKO Group by 4,722.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after buying an additional 8,595 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of TKO Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TKO Group by 127.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 89.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on TKO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on TKO Group from $225.00 to $222.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on TKO Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $237.00 target price on shares of TKO Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of TKO Group in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded TKO Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.08.

Trending Headlines about TKO Group

Here are the key news stories impacting TKO Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s generally favorable view is supported by TKO’s UFC and WWE media-rights agreements. The UFC’s $7.7 billion Paramount agreement could expand distribution and reduce barriers for viewers, while WWE’s $1.6 billion ESPN deal may provide recurring content revenue, broader reach and potential pricing power. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $238.08. TKO Group Holdings: WWE And UFC Are The Jewels
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ariel Emanuel, CFO Andrew M. Schleimer, director Nick Khan and insider Mark S. Shapiro collectively sold approximately $13.4 million of TKO shares on August 18–19. The SEC filings identify the transactions as sales to cover tax-withholding obligations connected with vested equity awards, rather than discretionary sales. Each executive retained a substantial stake after the transactions. Ariel Emanuel SEC filing Andrew Schleimer SEC filing Nick Khan SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: The concentration of sales by senior executives may still weigh on sentiment and create modest technical selling pressure, even though the transactions were tax-related. Director Nick Khan separately sold 6,546 shares for about $1.3 million on August 19, following an additional 8,248-share sale the previous day. TKO also trades at roughly 69–71 times earnings, leaving the stock vulnerable if UFC deal-related margin pressure or slower-than-expected WWE subscriber growth undermines its growth outlook.

About TKO Group

TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) is a global sports and entertainment company formed in 2023 through the combination of two major combat-sports businesses. The company brings together the mixed martial arts organization UFC and the sports entertainment business WWE under a single publicly traded holding company. TKO owns and manages a portfolio of live-event franchises, intellectual property, and media rights centered on combat and sports-entertainment content.

TKO’s core activities include the promotion and production of live events, the licensing and sale of broadcasting and streaming rights, and the development and commercialization of branded consumer products.