Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its Warner Music Group stake by 88.3% in the first quarter, adding 713,578 shares to own 1.52 million shares valued at approximately $38.9 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 96.88% of WMG’s outstanding stock.
• Warner Music Group reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.44 versus the $0.30 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.73 billion, up 16.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 14 Buy ratings and four Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $38.43, compared with the stock’s cited price of $27.61.

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 88.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,521,800 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 713,578 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Warner Music Group worth $38,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 10.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 7,119 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 120.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 948,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,743,000 after buying an additional 50,035 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 193,434 shares of the company's stock worth $5,269,000 after acquiring an additional 36,380 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 293.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,287,000 after acquiring an additional 475,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $27.61 on Tuesday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $23.34 and a 12 month high of $35.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average price is $29.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.93.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.73 billion during 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. Warner Music Group's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is 89.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WMG shares. Zacks Research cut Warner Music Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.43.

Warner Music Group 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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