Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.23 Million Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 326,449 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,103 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Warner Music Group worth $10,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 71.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,040 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WMG. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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 report on Thursday, July 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $34.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Warner Music Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.72.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

WMG traded up $0.36 on Thursday, reaching $31.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,949,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,540. 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 $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.24. The company's fifty day moving average is $27.47 and its 200 day moving average is $30.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.43, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 64.64%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.76%.

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.