Boothbay Fund Management LLC Acquires 162,825 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 62.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 422,613 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,825 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $14,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 57.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at $42,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $27.32 on Friday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $34.63. The company has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.10, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 38.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank upgraded Warner Music Group from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Warner Music Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.