162,293 Shares in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 162,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,034,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,754,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,016,000 after buying an additional 2,370,973 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,628,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,284,000 after purchasing an additional 49,166 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,247,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,354,000 after purchasing an additional 10,222 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,140,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,361,000 after purchasing an additional 437,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 953,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,560,000 after purchasing an additional 48,772 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $31.32 on Wednesday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $36.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 79.01% and a net margin of 8.07%. Research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised shares of Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, 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 target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In related news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $1,000,753.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,958.80. The trade was a 29.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.