Aureus Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Aureus Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143,770 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMG. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the first quarter worth about $537,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 40.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 68,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after purchasing an additional 19,832 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at about $346,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at about $302,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 135,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total value of $3,812,077.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757. 73.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Warner Music Group stock opened at $32.52 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $27.06 and a twelve month high of $38.05.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders 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 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 86.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Tigress Financial reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.67.

Warner Music Group 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.