Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

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. increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,166 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,287 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $4,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,388 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 117,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,630,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 8,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 0.9%

WMG stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.55. 754,865 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,900,442. The firm's 50 day moving average is $29.10 and its 200 day moving average is $30.17. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $36.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.26.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS 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 return on equity of 39.95% and a net margin of 4.59%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Warner Music Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.88.

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.