Darsana Capital Partners LP Makes New $2.57 Million Investment in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 82,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,570,000. Warner Music Group makes up approximately 0.1% of Darsana Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 2,699.4% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,217,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,207,000 after buying an additional 7,923,926 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $160,156,000. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,281,000. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,994 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 19.6% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,061,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,122,000 after purchasing an additional 831,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $1,809,327.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,909,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,191,171.50. The trade was a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $32.52 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.64. The firm has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 86.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.67.

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.