Capital International Sarl Acquires 11,077 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Capital International Sarl raised its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 163,724 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,077 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl's holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $5,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,199,012 shares of the company's stock worth $347,169,000 after buying an additional 2,444,508 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,920,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400,500 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Warner Music Group by 148.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 344,312 shares of the company's stock worth $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,895 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,088,000. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,895,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,746,000 after purchasing an additional 839,754 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of WMG traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $29.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 183,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,333. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. The firm has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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, research analysts predict 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 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. FBN Securities assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. This represents a 29.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total transaction of $31,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,754,808.07. This represents a 1.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,333 shares of company stock valued at $1,072,432 over the last 90 days. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.