Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys Shares of 266,620 Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 266,620 Warner Music Group shares worth approximately $7.2 million, while institutional investors collectively own 96.88% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and four Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $38.77.
• Warner Music reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $0.51 in EPS and $1.86 billion in revenue, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share. Shares opened at $25.08, down 5%, near the lower end of their 52-week range.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 266,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,217,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.05% of Warner Music Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Warner Music Group by 774.6% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 355.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 740.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Warner Music Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.77.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $25.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $23.34 and a 52-week high of $35.42. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $27.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.63. The company has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.30.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 92.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.32%.

Warner Music Group Profile

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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