Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Shares Purchased by Independent Franchise Partners LLP

Key Points

• Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. by 127%, owning 13,378,864 shares valued at approximately $419 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Warner Music Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, representing a yield of 2.3%, which is an increase from their previous dividend amount.
• Analysts have set a new average price target of $33.88 for Warner Music Group, with a mix of ratings including one Strong Buy, eight Buy, and ten Hold ratings.

Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 127.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,378,864 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,483,839 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group makes up 3.0% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 2.57% of Warner Music Group worth $419,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 101.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,820 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMG. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Warner Music Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.88.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMG traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.36. The stock had a trading volume of 192,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,260. The firm has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.47, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. Warner Music Group Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $36.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.43 and a 200-day moving average of $30.24.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 39.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given 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 is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

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.