Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 125.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,936 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,702 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $4,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 1.1% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 3,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $25.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.56. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $23.34 and a 1-year high of $35.42.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.17. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 85.50%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This is an increase from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 60.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.77.

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.