HighTower Advisors LLC Has $8.44 Million Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 272,103 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $8,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 10,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 10,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 13.1% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $33.10 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.77. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $36.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $40,248.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 242,360 shares in the company, valued at $7,503,465.60. This trade represents a 12.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,333 shares of company stock worth $2,124,602 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Citigroup raised shares of Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.81.

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.