Vanguard Group Inc. Has $450.80 Million Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. by 10.1%, owning approximately 14.38 million shares valued at around $450.8 million.
• In its most recent earnings report, Warner Music missed the expected earnings per share (EPS) and reported a revenue increase of 8.7% year-over-year, totaling $1.69 billion.
• Warner Music announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.18 to $0.19 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,379,667 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,316,979 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 2.76% of Warner Music Group worth $450,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMG. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,371,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $414,504,000 after purchasing an additional 82,149 shares during the period. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 10,370,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,479,000 after buying an additional 1,500,000 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 7,206.3% during the fourth quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 6,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $186,000,000 after buying an additional 5,917,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 1,850,945 shares of the company's stock worth $57,379,000 after buying an additional 37,955 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ WMG traded up $0.2430 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.6130. 740,350 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,901,373. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.35 and its 200-day moving average is $30.16. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $36.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.22, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is 126.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Warner Music Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.88.

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.