Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 6,820 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,031 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,820 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $7,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In other news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total transaction of $31,430.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,808.07. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 72.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $26.70 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. Warner Music Group’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. FBN Securities started coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.95.

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.