Millennium Management LLC Has $39.19 Million Stock Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Millennium Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 65.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,278,702 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,380,772 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Warner Music Group worth $39,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP bought a new position in Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth $160,156,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,201,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,903,000 after purchasing an additional 3,881,684 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter worth $84,281,000. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 47.4% in the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,198,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,232 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $31.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.69. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $38.05. The firm has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.18 and its 200-day moving average is $30.97.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 101.32% and a net margin of 8.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.00%.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 135,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total value of $3,812,077.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,725,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,790,405.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757. Corporate insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Tigress Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.92.

About Warner Music Group

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.