Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,155,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,449,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.22% of Warner Music Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 774.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 61.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $30.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.27. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52-week low of $23.34 and a 52-week high of $35.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is presently 89.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank upgraded Warner Music Group from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.38.

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.