Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Position in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. decreased its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 6.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,373,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 510,736 shares during the period. Warner Music Group comprises about 1.0% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $200,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,234,000 after purchasing an additional 9,103 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 22,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 5,090 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 68,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 34,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 40,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $29.80 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.44. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $36.64. The company has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 52.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WMG shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Warner Music Group from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.76.

Warner Music Group Profile

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.