Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases Shares of 39,445 Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 39,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital City Trust Co. FL raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 10,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,743 shares of the company's stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 11,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total transaction of $1,083,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 242,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,503,465.60. This trade represents a 12.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 73.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,534,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,973. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.73. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $27.06 and a twelve month high of $38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 69.29%. Warner Music Group's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 86.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WMG. Barclays reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.31.

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.