Two Sigma Advisers LP Acquires New Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 84,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,613,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMG. Darsana Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 7,206.3% in the 4th quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 6,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $186,000,000 after purchasing an additional 5,917,879 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,199,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444,508 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 43.5% during 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. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 10,370,280 shares of the company's stock worth $321,479,000 after buying an additional 1,500,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 148.2% during the 4th 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 period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In other news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total value of $31,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,754,808.07. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, May 12th. FBN Securities initiated coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.06.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 0.8%

Warner Music Group stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,451,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,297. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $25.87 and a 52-week high of $36.64. The stock has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.15.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.21). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.76%.

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.