Independent Franchise Partners LLP Raises Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

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 shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 127.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 2.57% of Warner Music Group worth $419,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the first quarter worth about $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 101.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 45.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,820 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Warner Music Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.88.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of WMG stock opened at $33.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 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's 50 day moving average price is $29.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.19.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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