19,530 Shares in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Purchased by Scientech Research LLC

Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 19,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMG. Linonia Partnership LP purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the second quarter worth $21,132,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 14.5% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 50,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 6,442 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 263.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 126,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after buying an additional 91,937 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 89.9% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,050,210 shares of the company's stock worth $32,189,000 after acquiring an additional 497,102 shares during the period. Finally, Darlington Partners Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 47.4% in the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company's stock worth $247,418,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594,994 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $1,809,327.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,909,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,191,171.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757. Insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.92.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.20. 806,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,883,884. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.99. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $27.06 and a 12 month high of $38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

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

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.