D1 Capital Partners L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

D1 Capital Partners L.P. lowered its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,669,498 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,595,000 shares during the period. Warner Music Group comprises about 1.4% of D1 Capital Partners L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. D1 Capital Partners L.P. owned about 0.52% of Warner Music Group worth $82,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,754,504 shares of the company's stock worth $274,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370,973 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Warner Music Group by 7,659.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 95,833 shares of the company's stock worth $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 94,598 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 953,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,560,000 after acquiring an additional 48,772 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 84.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 31,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $980,000 after acquiring an additional 14,507 shares during the period. Finally, Hahn Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 255,101 shares of the company's stock worth $7,908,000 after purchasing an additional 60,882 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG traded up $0.61 on Friday, reaching $29.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,443,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,663. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $36.64. The company has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.82.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In related news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction of $1,000,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,958.80. This represents a 29.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $40,248.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares in the company, valued at $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,333 shares of company stock worth $1,072,432 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday, April 21st. FBN Securities assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Warner Music Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.47.

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.