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

Darsana Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 82,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,570,000. Warner Music Group accounts for about 0.1% of Darsana Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Warner Music Group by 2,699.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,217,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,207,000 after purchasing an additional 7,923,926 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at about $160,156,000. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the second quarter worth about $84,281,000. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 47.4% during the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,418,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594,994 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 831,114 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In other news, CEO Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,909,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,191,171.50. This represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757. Insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of WMG opened at $32.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.37. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $38.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.64. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend 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 presently 86.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMG. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.