Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Purchases 1,326 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,553,960 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.30% of Warner Music Group worth $48,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Warner Music Group by 379.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMG shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 9th. FBN Securities began coverage on Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.76.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Warner Music Group stock opened at $31.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.04 and its 200 day moving average is $31.99. 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 one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $40,248.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the business’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 value of $1,000,753.50. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

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.