Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Warner Music Group by 379.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter worth $304,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Warner Music Group stock opened at $32.33 on Tuesday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $36.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 73.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMG. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.81.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In other news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. This represents a 29.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $40,248.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.