Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Holdings Raised by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,639 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,371,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,504,000 after purchasing an additional 82,149 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Warner Music Group by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,199,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,169,000 after buying an additional 2,444,508 shares during the period. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 10,370,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,479,000 after buying an additional 1,500,000 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.5% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 7,206.3% during the fourth quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 6,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000,000 after acquiring an additional 5,917,879 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WMG stock opened at $26.22 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. Warner Music Group Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $25.94 and a fifty-two 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.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.21). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. Warner Music Group’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total value of $31,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,649 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,808.07. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 72.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMG. Citigroup upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research raised Warner Music Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Macquarie restated 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

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.