Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Stake Raised by Darsana Capital Partners LP

Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 7,206.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,000,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,917,879 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group comprises about 5.7% of Darsana Capital Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Darsana Capital Partners LP owned 1.16% of Warner Music Group worth $186,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the company's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Services lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Ltd. CA raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 117,095 shares of the company's stock worth $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

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

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.26. 1,109,608 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,945,340. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12-month low of $27.06 and a 12-month high of $36.64. The stock's 50 day moving average is $31.14 and its 200 day moving average is $31.78. The company has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday, April 21st. FBN Securities assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upgraded 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.47.

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.