Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Takes Position in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI has acquired 55,700 shares of Warner Music Group Corp., valued at approximately $1,746,000, during the first quarter.
• Warner Music Group's recent earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate, reporting ($0.03) compared to an expected $0.27, despite revenue rising to $1.69 billion, surpassing predictions.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.18 to $0.19 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.3% amidst a payout ratio of 133.33%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 55,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,746,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMG. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the first quarter worth $54,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 45.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,820 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised Warner Music Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Warner Music Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.65.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:WMG traded down $0.62 on Friday, reaching $33.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,572,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,745,177. The firm has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 58.98, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.31. The business's 50-day moving average price is $31.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.09. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $25.56 and a 1-year high of $36.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 39.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

About Warner Music Group

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.