Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its stake in Warner Music Group by 82.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 203,972 shares and leaving it with 43,588 shares worth about $1.34 million.
• Warner Music Group posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.44 versus $0.30 expected and revenue of $1.73 billion versus $1.61 billion expected, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share and now yields about 2.6%, while analysts remain generally constructive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $37.87.

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 82.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,588 shares of the company's stock after selling 203,972 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMG. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings 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 stake 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 worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,665 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $28.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.30. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $23.34 and a 52-week high of $35.42.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 62.01% and a net margin of 6.34%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 89.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMG. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Warner Music Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Warner Music Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.87.

About Warner Music Group

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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