Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Sold by Fernbridge Capital Management LP

Fernbridge Capital Management LP decreased its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,110,908 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,689 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group comprises approximately 2.3% of Fernbridge Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Fernbridge Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.21% of Warner Music Group worth $34,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $160,156,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth $205,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,049,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,265,000. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG opened at $30.44 on Friday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.12.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of Warner Music Group 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at $64,113,588. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757. Company insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMG. Tigress Financial decreased their price target on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, July 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.69.

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.