Pacer Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 41,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 33,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the fourth quarter worth $413,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $13,884,000. Finally, Capital International Ltd. CA boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 107,807 shares of the company's stock worth $3,858,000 after buying an additional 28,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In other news, CEO Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $1,809,327.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,909,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,191,171.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757. 73.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 0.1 %

WMG traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.20. 806,325 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,883,884. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $38.05. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.01. The stock has a market cap of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.37.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 101.32% and a net margin of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This is an increase from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.92.

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.