Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Stake Cut by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,087 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,825 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the company's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its holdings 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 worth $326,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 10,336 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

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Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,944,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,349. The firm's fifty day moving average is $32.02 and its 200 day moving average is $31.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.35. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $27.06 and a twelve month high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 79.01% and a net margin of 8.07%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Warner Music Group news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $1,000,753.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. The trade was a 29.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $40,248.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,333 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,602 over the last three months. Company insiders own 72.21% of the company's stock.

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.