Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $9.98 Million Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 30.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 318,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142,245 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Warner Music Group worth $9,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 5,790.5% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $86,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, October 4th. Tigress Financial decreased their target price 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. Macquarie cut their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.17.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ WMG opened at $33.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.69. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $27.06 and a 12 month high of $38.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.06, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 69.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $12,007,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,289,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,113,588. This trade represents a 15.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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. 73.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.