Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its Warner Music Group stake by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 802,694 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 2,976,111 shares worth about $91.3 million.
• WMG reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.44 versus the $0.30 estimate and revenue of $1.73 billion versus $1.61 billion expected, with revenue up 16.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Warner Music Group, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.38, while the stock also recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,976,111 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 802,694 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.57% of Warner Music Group worth $91,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,914,577 shares of the company's stock worth $576,110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837,801 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 8,914,756 shares of the company's stock worth $303,637,000 after buying an additional 363,092 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,208,063 shares of the company's stock worth $98,391,000 after buying an additional 981,912 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 178.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,183,654 shares of the company's stock worth $108,435,000 after buying an additional 2,040,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 5,055.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,860,687 shares of the company's stock worth $63,375,000 after buying an additional 1,824,596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMG. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.38.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 1.9%

WMG stock opened at $33.43 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.02. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $23.34 and a 12 month high of $34.63. The company has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 62.01%. Warner Music Group's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.41%.

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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