The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 263.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,780 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 91,937 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $3,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMG. Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,300,000. Junto Capital Management LP raised its position in Warner Music Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 1,196,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,831,000 after purchasing an additional 31,138 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,206,000. Honeycomb Asset Management LP raised its position in Warner Music Group by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Honeycomb Asset Management LP now owns 250,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,948,000 after purchasing an additional 59,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Warner Music Group by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,713,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $12,007,352.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at $64,113,588. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $30.96. 1,274,885 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,887,077. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 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 firm has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.30 and a 200-day moving average of $30.92.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 101.32%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This is a positive change from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 72.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on WMG shares. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.