Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 127.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,644 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,180 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $6,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 74.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at $30,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 5,790.5% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of WMG opened at $31.85 on Friday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $27.06 and a fifty-two week high of $38.05. The company has a market capitalization of $16.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 69.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMG shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, October 4th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $1,809,327.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,909,422 shares in the company, valued at $82,191,171.50. This trade represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

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.