Darlington Partners Capital Management LP Raises Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Darlington Partners Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 47.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,072,372 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,594,994 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group comprises 11.7% of Darlington Partners Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP owned approximately 1.56% of Warner Music Group worth $247,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at about $606,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Warner Music Group by 183.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 588,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,088,000 after buying an additional 380,756 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the second quarter worth approximately $84,281,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $1,809,327.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,909,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,191,171.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757. Insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $31.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.37. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $38.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.25 and a 200-day moving average of $31.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 101.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This is a positive change from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, July 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.92.

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.