State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Lowers Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,372 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Warner Music Group Trading Up 3.0 %

WMG opened at $30.53 on Wednesday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $36.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. The firm has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.80.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMG. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. FBN Securities began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Warner Music Group news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction of $1,000,753.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,958.80. The trade was a 29.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $40,248.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,333 shares of company stock valued at $1,072,432 in the last quarter. Company 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.