Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Stock Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 355.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,337 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,599 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,812 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 10,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its position 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 worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $12,007,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,113,588. The trade was a 15.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 73.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of WMG stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.52. The company had a trading volume of 729,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,576,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.63. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $38.05.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 86.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMG. Citigroup upped their target price on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.67.

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.