39,968 Shares in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Purchased by Stance Capital LLC

Key Points

• Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake of 39,968 shares in Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) in the third quarter, valued at about $1.36 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 96.88% of the stock as several other funds also increased positions.
• Warner's latest quarter reported $0.33 EPS (missing estimates) but $1.84B revenue (beating estimates) and +10.4% YoY growth; analysts rate WMG a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a target of $35.69, while the company pays a $0.19 quarterly dividend (annual yield ~2.9%) despite a payout ratio near 131%.

Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 39,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.1% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Warner Music Group by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMG shares. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.69.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ WMG opened at $26.48 on Wednesday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $25.56 and a 1-year high of $34.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30. The company has a market capitalization of $13.83 billion, a PE ratio of 45.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.48.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 38.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Warner Music Group's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 131.03%.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group is a major global music company that operates across recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music business comprises a portfolio of well-known labels—including Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone—as well as distribution and artist-services operations that support both established and emerging artists. The company's publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, manages songwriting catalogs and administers rights for compositions across multiple media, providing licensing for film, television, advertising and other commercial uses.

WMG's activities span the full music value chain: signing and developing artists, producing and marketing recordings, distributing music through physical channels and streaming platforms, and monetizing rights through licensing, synchronization and neighboring-rights collection.

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