Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Sold by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC decreased its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 505 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 74.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 10,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 17,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Music Group news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total value of $1,083,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 242,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,503,465.60. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG opened at $31.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $38.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.75. The company has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 69.29%. Warner Music Group’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMG has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Tigress Financial dropped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

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.