Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Purchased by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ: WMG) by 6.6%, now owning 150,166 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million.
• Warner Music Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.19 per share, providing a dividend yield of 2.4%.
• The company reported a revenue of $1.69 billion for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, but missed earnings estimates with an EPS of ($0.03).

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,166 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,287 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $4,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 4,097,688 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,357,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 198,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,225,000 after purchasing an additional 36,283 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $422,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 997,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,263,000 after purchasing an additional 43,666 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.8%

WMG stock opened at $31.71 on Monday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $36.64. The firm has a market cap of $16.53 billion, a PE ratio of 55.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Warner Music Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.83.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.