Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Sold by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd lessened its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 64.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,101 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,199,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444,508 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,920,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,531,000 after buying an additional 2,400,500 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 148.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 344,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,674,000 after buying an additional 1,058,895 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,088,000. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,895,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,746,000 after acquiring an additional 839,754 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. FBN Securities began coverage on Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,649 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,808.07. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction of $1,000,753.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. The trade was a 29.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,333 shares of company stock worth $1,072,432 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $29.12 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.90. 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 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $36.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 79.01% and a net margin of 8.07%. Analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

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.