United Services Automobile Association Invests $294,000 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 stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,296,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,552,000 after acquiring an additional 4,097,688 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,379,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $450,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,979 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 127.0% during the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 13,378,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $419,427,000 after acquiring an additional 7,483,839 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 43.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,400,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position 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 during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ WMG traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $34.12. 616,131 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,883,721. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $36.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a PE ratio of 59.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average price is $31.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.08.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 39.95% and a net margin of 4.59%.The firm's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This is an increase from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMG. UBS Group set a $45.00 price target on Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Warner Music Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Warner Music Group from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.