Spotify Technology $SPOT Shares Sold by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,325 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $1,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 35.1% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 682,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,483,000 after buying an additional 177,310 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 645,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,672,000 after buying an additional 73,722 shares in the last quarter. Truxt Investmentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology during the third quarter worth $2,093,000. Ownership Capital B.V. purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology during the third quarter worth $2,769,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 2.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,005,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $702,106,000 after buying an additional 24,199 shares in the last quarter. 84.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Spotify Technology News

Here are the key news stories impacting Spotify Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Spotify announced a new AI partnership with Universal Music Group that will let Premium users create licensed AI-generated covers and remixes, opening a potential new revenue stream while giving artists a cut of the economics. Spotify strikes deal with Universal Music to let premium users create AI covers, remixes
• Positive Sentiment: Management reinforced a bullish 2030 outlook, calling for mid-teens annual revenue growth and gross margins of 35% to 40%, which supports the argument that profitability can keep improving. Spotify stock pops on guidance at first investor day since 2022
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised price targets after the event, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Citizens JMP, and Jefferies, signaling stronger confidence in Spotify’s growth story. Analyst target hikes
• Positive Sentiment: Spotify also introduced new product features tied to engagement and monetization, including AI-generated podcasts, audiobook tools, and reserved concert tickets for top fans, which could deepen user activity and subscription value. Spotify adds AI-powered Q&A and briefing generation features to podcasts
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha opinion piece argued Spotify’s long-term path deserves a premium valuation, but this is more commentary than a new fundamental catalyst. Spotify’s Path Forward Deserves This Premium
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha note warned that weaker advertising trends could be a concern, suggesting ad-market softness may remain a headwind even as Spotify’s premium business improves. Spotify: Weaker Advertising Trends Are Becoming A Concern (Downgrade)

Spotify Technology Stock Up 5.9%

SPOT opened at $518.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $106.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.35, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.55. Spotify Technology has a 52-week low of $405.00 and a 52-week high of $785.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $479.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $523.86.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.87 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SPOT shares. Citigroup raised shares of Spotify Technology from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $670.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $695.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spotify Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $652.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total value of $2,606,616.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.52, for a total transaction of $9,864,842.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,758,773.68. This represents a 50.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 47,102 shares of company stock worth $21,444,648. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

About Spotify Technology

Spotify Technology is a digital audio streaming company best known for its on-demand music service and a growing portfolio of spoken-word content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched commercially in 2008, the company offers a cross-platform app that enables users to discover, stream and organize music, podcasts and other audio. Its primary consumer products include a free, ad-supported tier and a paid Spotify Premium subscription that provides ad-free listening, offline playback and higher-quality audio streams.