Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 22.4%, owning 198,576 shares valued at approximately $6.2 million after purchasing an additional 36,283 shares.
• Several other hedge funds have significantly increased their holdings in Warner Music Group, with Darsana Capital Partners growing its stake by 7,206.3% and Vanguard Group increasing by 10.1%.
• Warner Music Group recently boosted its quarterly dividend from $0.18 to $0.19 per share, representing a 2.4% yield, although it has a high payout ratio of 126.32%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 22.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,576 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,283 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $6,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 10.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,379,667 shares of the company's stock worth $450,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,979 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,371,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $414,504,000 after acquiring an additional 82,149 shares during the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 10,370,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500,000 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,920,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 7,206.3% during the 4th quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 6,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $186,000,000 after acquiring an additional 5,917,879 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Warner Music Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.88.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 0.5%

WMG traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,254,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,903,954. Warner Music Group Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $36.64. The stock has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a PE ratio of 56.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50-day moving average is $29.10 and its 200-day moving average is $30.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.30). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 39.95%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid 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 is Wednesday, August 20th. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 126.32%.

Warner Music Group 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.