Man Group plc Sells 363,624 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Man Group plc reduced its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 57.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,137 shares of the company's stock after selling 363,624 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.05% of Warner Music Group worth $8,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Darsana Capital Partners LP lifted its position in 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 valued at $186,000,000 after acquiring an additional 5,917,879 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position 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 valued at $347,169,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444,508 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,920,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,531,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400,500 shares in the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 10,370,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 148.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 344,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,895 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In other news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction of $1,000,753.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. This trade represents a 29.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total value of $31,430.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,808.07. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 72.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $27.41 on Tuesday. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $29.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12-month low of $26.34 and a 12-month high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. Warner Music Group's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research raised Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup raised Warner Music Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, FBN Securities initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.50.

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.

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