Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 49,166 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,628,263 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 49,166 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 0.51% of Warner Music Group worth $82,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 74.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Warner Music Group by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 10,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 17,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $30.73 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $27.06 and a 12 month high of $38.05. The company has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.02, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.20). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 69.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Tigress Financial lowered their target price on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

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.