Two Sigma Investments LP Takes Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 178,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,545,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 10,336 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 117,095 shares of the company's stock worth $3,630,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 0.8%

WMG traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,451,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,924,424. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $28.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $25.87 and a twelve month high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMG. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $34.00 price target (down from $35.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.06.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,000 shares of the company's 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 72.21% of the company's stock.

About Warner Music Group

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.