Independent Franchise Partners LLP Sells 126,801 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Independent Franchise Partners LLP cut its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,153,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126,801 shares during the period. Warner Music Group comprises 3.0% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $448,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake 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. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 85.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Warner Music Group stock opened at $27.32 on Friday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $34.63. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.61. The firm has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.10, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.24.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Warner Music Group’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 131.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.