Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets significantly increased its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. by 2,198.4%, owning approximately 999,613 shares worth about $31.34 million as of the latest quarter.
• A majority of Warner Music Group's stock, 96.88%, is held by institutional investors, with several firms raising their stakes during the first quarter.
• Warner Music Group's quarterly dividend was increased to $0.19 per share, reflecting a 2.3% yield, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 133.33%.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 2,198.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 999,613 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 956,121 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.19% of Warner Music Group worth $31,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,296,700 shares of the company's stock worth $479,552,000 after purchasing an additional 4,097,688 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,379,667 shares of the company's stock worth $450,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,979 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 127.0% during the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 13,378,864 shares of the company's stock worth $419,427,000 after purchasing an additional 7,483,839 shares during the period. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 10,370,280 shares of the company's stock worth $321,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,920,342 shares of the company's stock worth $245,531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WMG shares. Bank of America raised shares of Warner Music Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $34.00 target price (down previously from $35.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities 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, Warner Music Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.88.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $32.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,860,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,912,899. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $30.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. The company has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.31. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week 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 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 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This is a boost from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is 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.