Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Position Cut by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake in Warner Music Group by 24.1% in Q4, selling 4,073,639 shares and ending the period with 12,840,938 shares (about 2.46% of the company) valued at $393.8 million.
• Warner's latest quarter showed 10.4% revenue growth to $1.84 billion but an EPS miss ($0.33 vs. $0.40 consensus), while the stock trades with a market capitalization of $15.85 billion and a P/E of 52.33.
• Analysts hold a Moderate Buy consensus (13 Buys, 6 Holds) with an average target of $36.00, and institutional investors own roughly 96.9% of the shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,840,938 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,073,639 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 2.46% of Warner Music Group worth $393,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company's stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded Warner Music Group from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.00.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

WMG opened at $30.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $23.34 and a 1-year high of $34.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.01.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 38.33%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Warner Music Group's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group is a major global music company that operates across recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music business comprises a portfolio of well-known labels—including Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone—as well as distribution and artist-services operations that support both established and emerging artists. The company's publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, manages songwriting catalogs and administers rights for compositions across multiple media, providing licensing for film, television, advertising and other commercial uses.

WMG's activities span the full music value chain: signing and developing artists, producing and marketing recordings, distributing music through physical channels and streaming platforms, and monetizing rights through licensing, synchronization and neighboring-rights collection.

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