Hahn Capital Management LLC Sells 92,147 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Hahn Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 194,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92,147 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group accounts for approximately 3.9% of Hahn Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Hahn Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $6,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Independent Franchise Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $160,156,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,201,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,903,000 after purchasing an additional 3,881,684 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $84,281,000. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 47.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 19.6% in the 2nd 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 own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $12,007,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,289,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,113,588. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757. 73.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $31.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.38. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $38.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.81.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 101.32% and a net margin of 8.56%. Equities analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMG. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Tigress Financial reduced their price target on shares of 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. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, July 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.17.

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.