Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 13,172.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,483 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 125,530 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $3,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at about $606,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 2,699.4% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,217,467 shares of the company's stock worth $257,207,000 after buying an additional 7,923,926 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the third quarter worth about $15,766,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the second quarter worth about $1,956,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the second quarter worth about $1,265,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 1.2 %

WMG traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.94. 739,557 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,803,527. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.63.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.20). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 69.29% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 86.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. 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 note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.67.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 135,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total value of $3,812,077.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,725,964 shares in the company, valued at $76,790,405.88. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

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.