Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New $2.42 Million Investment in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 70,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,418,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMG. Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its position in Warner Music Group by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 8,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,920,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 6,227.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,173,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139,067 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 18.1% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,025,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 310,698 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,485,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,147,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,253,000 after purchasing an additional 11,566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of Warner Music Group stock opened at $29.45 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 50.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.68 and its 200-day moving average is $31.05.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 131.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMG. Wall Street Zen lowered Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $33.00 target price on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 21st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.69.

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.