PDT Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

PDT Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,219 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,763 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 74.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 10,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 2.8% during the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 17,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Tigress Financial cut their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.67.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,113,588. This trade represents a 15.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757. Insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMG traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.52. 729,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,576,985. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $38.05.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.75%.

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.