Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Holdings Increased by Darsana Capital Partners LP

Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,943,199 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,199 shares during the period. Warner Music Group accounts for approximately 1.5% of Darsana Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Darsana Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $323,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,645,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200,362 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,040,425 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,111,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in Warner Music Group by 112.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,226,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth $35,449,000. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $28.16 on Thursday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $23.34 and a 1-year high of $35.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.51 and its 200 day moving average is $28.33. The company has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 85.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WMG shares. Zacks Research lowered Warner Music Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.25.

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.