QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 60,887 Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 60,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMG. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 7,119 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 120.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 948,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,743,000 after purchasing an additional 50,035 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 193,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,269,000 after acquiring an additional 36,380 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 293.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,287,000 after acquiring an additional 475,929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Warner Music Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Music Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat — WMG reported $0.44 EPS vs. $0.30 expected and revenue of $1.73B vs. $1.61B expected, with improved ROE and positive net margin metrics; this confirms better topline growth and operating leverage than feared, supporting upside to valuation and investor sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Paramount first?look, multi?year film deal — WMG struck a deal with Paramount Pictures to develop theatrical films based on WMG artists and songwriters, opening new licensing, sync and IP-monetization channels that could boost catalog value and recurring revenue over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry and media coverage of the Paramount deal — Multiple outlets (Music Business Worldwide, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, MSN) are highlighting the partnership; this raises WMG’s profile and cross?media upside but the financial contribution will likely be gradual and dependent on project success. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/valuation commentary — Recent pieces assess WMG’s valuation as mixed: strong growth signals vs. a high P/E; investors should weigh upside from new content monetization and catalog appreciation against premium multiples. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance?sheet and liquidity considerations — WMG shows relatively high leverage and sub?1.0 current/quick ratios (background data), which could amplify risk if growth or margin improvement slows; investors should monitor cash flow and any guidance on capital allocation.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMG shares. Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ WMG opened at $31.04 on Friday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $23.34 and a one year high of $34.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.38 and its 200-day moving average is $29.00.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 38.33% and a net margin of 4.43%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. Warner Music Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 131.03%.

About Warner Music Group

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.