Independent Franchise Partners LLP Increases Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,895,025 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 839,754 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group accounts for 1.4% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 1.14% of Warner Music Group worth $182,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMG. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 379.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Warner Music Group by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.76.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $1,000,753.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. This represents a 29.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $40,248.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:WMG traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.12. 786,270 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,956,233. 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.44 and a 200 day moving average of $31.91. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $27.06 and a twelve month high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. On average, analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.47%.

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.