JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 37.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,754,504 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,370,973 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.69% of Warner Music Group worth $274,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 74.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 10,422 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Warner Music Group by 3.2% during 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Warner Music Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,508 shares of the company's stock worth $2,428,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 9.1% during the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Warner Music Group stock traded down $0.49 on Monday, reaching $30.96. The company had a trading volume of 998,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,524. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $38.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $32.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.79. The firm has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 69.29% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total transaction of $1,083,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 242,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,503,465.60. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMG. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Tigress Financial dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Warner Music Group 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.