Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Sold by AKO Capital LLP

AKO Capital LLP lowered its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 37.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,323,994 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,538,131 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group accounts for 1.9% of AKO Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. AKO Capital LLP’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $134,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 379.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $40,248.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $1,000,753.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,958.80. The trade was a 29.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $32.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.97.

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

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of 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. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.81.

Warner Music Group Company 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.