Millennium Management LLC Sells 2,380,772 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Millennium Management LLC lowered its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 65.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,278,702 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,380,772 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Warner Music Group worth $39,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Independent Franchise Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the second quarter valued at $160,156,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in Warner Music Group by 41.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,201,194 shares of the company's stock worth $435,903,000 after acquiring an additional 3,881,684 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth $84,281,000. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,198,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,909,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,191,171.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.33. 1,986,238 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,885,542. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $38.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.97.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Equities analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 72.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, July 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Music Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.92.

Warner Music Group Company 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.