Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Sold by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. lowered its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,825 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 1,041.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 363,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after acquiring an additional 331,511 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new position in Warner Music Group during the third quarter worth $371,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMG. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup upgraded Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In related news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total transaction of $1,083,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 242,360 shares in the company, valued at $7,503,465.60. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $40,248.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 64,333 shares of company stock worth $2,124,602 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 0.9 %

WMG opened at $35.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.69. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $36.64. The company has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.25.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin’ Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.