Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 32.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,512 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Independent Franchise Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at about $160,156,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 41.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,201,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,903,000 after buying an additional 3,881,684 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at about $84,281,000. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP increased its position in Warner Music Group by 47.4% during the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in Warner Music Group by 19.6% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,061,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,122,000 after purchasing an additional 831,114 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $32.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.73. The stock has a market cap of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.37. Warner Music Group Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $27.06 and a fifty-two week high of $38.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.23%.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $1,809,327.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,909,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,191,171.50. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757 over the last 90 days. 73.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMG shares. Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Tigress Financial lowered their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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 note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.17.

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.