Darsana Capital Partners LP Acquires 5,917,879 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 7,206.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,000,000 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,917,879 shares during the period. Warner Music Group makes up approximately 5.7% of Darsana Capital Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Darsana Capital Partners LP owned about 1.16% of Warner Music Group worth $186,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 379.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Warner Music Group by 13.1% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $1,000,753.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,419,958.80. This represents a 29.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $40,248.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,333 shares of company stock worth $1,072,432 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMG. FBN Securities initiated coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.47.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.35. 433,570 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,935,562. The stock has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. Warner Music Group Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $27.06 and a fifty-two week high of $36.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.76.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

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.