AQR Capital Management LLC Has $5.03 Million Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. by 338.1% in the first quarter, owning 162,215 shares worth approximately $5 million.
• Several large investors, including Fifth Third Bancorp and MetLife Investment Management LLC, have also raised their holdings in Warner Music Group, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Warner Music Group, with Citigroup setting a new target of $41.00, while the consensus rating remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $34.65.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 338.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,215 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 125,186 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $5,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMG. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 2.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,234,000 after buying an additional 9,103 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 5,272.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 95,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,040,000 after buying an additional 93,530 shares during the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 896,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,790,000 after purchasing an additional 205,529 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 59,437 shares of the company's stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 27,821 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the first quarter worth about $1,157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WMG traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.52. 1,132,079 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,700,148. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. The company has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $31.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.03. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.64.

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

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is an increase from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Warner Music Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $28.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.65.

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.