Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 30.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 318,749 shares of the company's stock after selling 142,245 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Warner Music Group worth $9,977,000 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. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 74.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 17,548 shares of the company's stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 6.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 13,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,909,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $82,191,171.50. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757. Corporate insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Warner Music Group stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 471,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,817. The stock has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $38.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.69.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.17.

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.