Legal & General Group Plc Grows Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its Warner Music Group stake by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 95,956 more shares and bringing its total holding to 423,049 shares worth about $13 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 96.88% of Warner Music Group shares. Several other investors also boosted their positions sharply during recent quarters.
• Analysts are broadly constructive on WMG after its latest earnings beat, with the company posting $0.44 EPS versus a $0.30 estimate and revenue of $1.73 billion, up 16.7% year over year; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $37.38.

Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 423,049 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 95,956 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.08% of Warner Music Group worth $12,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% in the second 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 period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,486 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 61.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WMG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Music Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.38.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $30.80 on Wednesday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12-month low of $23.34 and a 12-month high of $35.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is 89.41%.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

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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