Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires 7,608 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,945 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,608 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $321,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $870,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,881,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 7,659.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 95,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 94,598 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $32.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $36.64. The company has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.85 and a 200-day moving average of $31.92.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 79.01% and a net margin of 8.07%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $40,248.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction of $1,000,753.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,958.80. This represents a 29.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.81.

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.