Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,061 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,476 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 87,649 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,808.07. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 72.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMG shares. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. FBN Securities began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.50.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WMG traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.30. 1,775,709 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,922,491. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.19 and its 200-day moving average is $31.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $25.87 and a 52-week high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 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 company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given 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 2.74%. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

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.