Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Sold by Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC trimmed its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286,550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Warner Music Group worth $8,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMG. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $463,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Warner Music Group by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 31,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 14,507 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 632,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,606,000 after acquiring an additional 128,735 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

WMG opened at $32.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. The stock has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.35. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $38.05.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 73.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMG has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total transaction of $1,083,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 242,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,503,465.60. This represents a 12.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 72.21% 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.