Jackson Square Partners LLC Sells 106,370 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Key Points

• Jackson Square Partners LLC reduced its stake in Warner Music Group by 16.8%, selling 106,370 shares and now holds 528,076 shares valued at approximately $16.6 million.
• Warner Music Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio of 82.76%.
• The company posted a quarterly EPS of $0.07, missing estimates of $0.28, and reported revenues of $1.48 billion, down 0.7% from the previous year.

Jackson Square Partners LLC trimmed its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 16.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,076 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,370 shares during the quarter. Warner Music Group accounts for approximately 2.2% of Jackson Square Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Jackson Square Partners LLC owned about 0.10% of Warner Music Group worth $16,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 122.6% in 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 valued at approximately $40,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

WMG stock opened at $30.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $36.64. The stock has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.11.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.21). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 64.64% and a net margin of 7.14%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.72.

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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