Bank of America Corp DE Buys 170,316 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Warner Music Group stake by 42.2%, purchasing 170,316 additional shares to hold 574,242 shares worth approximately $14.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.88% of WMG.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 13 Buy ratings and four Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $38.77. Recent targets from Evercore and JPMorgan reached $43.
• Warner Music reported quarterly earnings of $0.51 per share and revenue of $1.86 billion, beating estimates and growing revenue 10.4% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 payout and a 2.9% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 42.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 574,242 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 170,316 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.11% of Warner Music Group worth $14,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 774.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on WMG shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Thirteen equities research 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.77.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $27.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $23.34 and a 12 month high of $35.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.42.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 85.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

Warner Music Group Company 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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