Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 201.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 544,520 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 363,727 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $13,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMG. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 774.6% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Warner Music Group during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 480.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 355.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Warner Music Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.87.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMG opened at $28.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.13. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $23.34 and a 52-week high of $35.42. The firm has a market cap of $15.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.11, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.30.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.14. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 62.01% and a net margin of 6.34%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.41%.

Warner Music Group 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.