Marathon Asset Management Ltd Sells 475,947 Shares of Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) by 92.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 475,947 shares during the quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Manchester United were worth $649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MANU. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Manchester United by 50.9% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,007,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700,337 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Manchester United in the first quarter valued at about $3,195,000. Ursa Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Manchester United by 577.1% during the first quarter. Ursa Fund Management LLC now owns 260,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,630,000 after buying an additional 221,600 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Manchester United by 15.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,351,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,814,000 after buying an additional 185,271 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Manchester United during the 2nd quarter valued at $686,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Manchester United from $16.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th.

Manchester United Price Performance

Shares of MANU opened at $16.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.33. Manchester United plc has a fifty-two week low of $13.50 and a fifty-two week high of $22.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -26.55 and a beta of 0.69.

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 11th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.02. Manchester United had a negative return on equity of 55.05% and a negative net margin of 17.28%. The firm had revenue of $179.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.82 million. Equities analysts predict that Manchester United plc will post -0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.