Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 3,317 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,612 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,317 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $759,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $606,000. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,766,000. Amalgamated Bank bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,956,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In other news, CEO Max Lousada sold 135,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total transaction of $3,812,077.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,725,964 shares in the company, valued at $76,790,405.88. This trade represents a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757. 73.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WMG. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.79.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $32.05 on Tuesday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $38.05. The company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.82 and a 200-day moving average of $30.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm 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 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 86.75%.

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.