DigitalBridge Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

DigitalBridge Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 688,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 130,994 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group makes up 1.8% of DigitalBridge Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. DigitalBridge Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Warner Music Group worth $21,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,628,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 33,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $413,000. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in Warner Music Group by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 521,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,655,000 after purchasing an additional 61,673 shares during the period. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 0.2 %

WMG stock opened at $31.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $27.06 and a 12 month high of $38.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.25 and its 200 day moving average is $31.05.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 101.32% and a net margin of 8.56%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is presently 72.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, July 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $12,007,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,113,588. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757 over the last three months. 73.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.