FORA Capital LLC Invests $1.16 Million in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has invested $1.16 million in Warner Music Group Corp., acquiring 36,921 shares in the first quarter of 2023.
• Warner Music Group reported a net revenue of $1.69 billion for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and marking an 8.7% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $0.19 per share, boosting the annualized dividend to $0.76 with a yield of 2.2%.

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 36,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,157,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 10.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,388 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 77,901 shares of the company's stock worth $2,442,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,510 shares of the company's stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $33.92 on Thursday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $36.64. 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 capitalization of $17.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.26. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.24.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 39.95%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Warner Music Group's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America raised Warner Music Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.88.

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.

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