Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Position Boosted by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 35,439.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,822 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,679 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its position in Warner Music Group by 41.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,861,877 shares of the company's stock worth $391,679,000 after purchasing an additional 192,215 shares during the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP raised its position 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 worth $247,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,994 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $160,156,000. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,198,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,068,000 after buying an additional 2,397,232 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of WMG stock traded down $0.72 on Friday, reaching $31.14. 3,763,298 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,891,861. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $38.05. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.95.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 101.32% and a net margin of 8.56%. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. 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 72.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $12,007,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,113,588. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757 over the last ninety days. 73.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMG. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Tigress Financial cut their price objective on shares of 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.33.

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.