52,874 Shares in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Purchased by Inceptionr LLC

Key Points

• Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during the first quarter, acquiring 52,874 shares valued at about $1.35 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with 14 Buy ratings and 4 Hold ratings; the consensus view is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $38.43.
• Warner Music recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.44 versus $0.30 expected and revenue of $1.73 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share.

Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 52,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,350,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WMG. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 3,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,718 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,062 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 price objective on Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.43.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $26.60 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.30. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $23.34 and a 1-year high of $35.42.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 62.01%. Warner Music Group's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.41%.

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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