United Services Automobile Association Takes Position in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has acquired 9,300 new shares in Warner Music Group Corp. for approximately $294,000 in the first quarter of 2023.
• Warner Music Group recently reported a Q2 revenue of $1.69 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion, despite posting an EPS loss of ($0.03).
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.19, raising its annualized dividend yield to 2.3%, with a payout ratio of 133.33%.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 36.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,296,700 shares of the company's stock worth $479,552,000 after acquiring an additional 4,097,688 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 10.1% during 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 last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 127.0% during the first quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 13,378,864 shares of the company's stock worth $419,427,000 after acquiring an additional 7,483,839 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,920,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,531,000 after buying an additional 2,400,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 1,014,425 shares of the company's stock worth $31,802,000 after purchasing an additional 51,021 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMG traded down $0.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $33.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,132,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,700,148. The company has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.81, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.31. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $36.64. The business's 50-day moving average is $31.79 and its 200 day moving average is $30.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Warner Music Group's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMG has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group set a $45.00 target price on Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America raised Warner Music Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.65.

Warner Music Group Company 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.