Linda McMahon Loses Status As Significant Shareholder of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (WWE)

An amended 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Linda E. McMahon and the Vincent K. McMahon 2013 Irrev. Trust U/A dtd. December 5, 2013 (the “GRAT”), of which she is a beneficiary, has converted its remaining 1.55 million Class B Common Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (NYSE:WWE) into an equal number of Class A Common Shares and then sold all of those shares in a block sale for $10.32 per share. Hence, the GRAT now owns no shares of the company’s outstanding stock.

While the sale was essentially made by Linda’s husband and fellow WWE co-Founder Vince McMahon, as detailed in a separate filing, it results in Ms. McMahon’s beneficial ownership of the company that she ran as its CEO for 12 years falling to 1.5%, well below the 5% threshold to be deemed a significant shareholder. Ms. McMahon, who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in both 2010 and 2012, has personal ownership of 566,670 Class B Common Shares of WWE (which give her 1.4% of the company’s voting power), and 100 Class A Common Shares.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (NYSE:WWE) is a company that produces and casts various entertainment content through several channels and its own WWE Network, to a worldwide audience, with its main focus being the promotion of professional wrestling events. Recently, the company was sued by a dozen retired wrestlers because of the neurological injuries they suffered when participating in its bouts. The WWE banned chair shots to the head in 2008 as both a means to further protect wrestlers and to fit into its new aim of having a PG rating.

Over the past 12 months, the company’s stock has lost 3.69%. In its financial report for the second quarter of 2016, the company disclosed earnings per share of $0.01, missing analysts’ consensus target by $0.01, though revenue of $199 million easily topped the estimates of $181.8 million. Earlier this month, Pacific Crest reiterated its ‘Overweight’ rating on World Wrestling Entertainment’s stock and has a price target of $22 on it, while Benchmark Co. reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock, with a price target of $21.86.

You can access the original SEC filing by clicking here.

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