Hahn Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Hahn Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 187,605 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,743 shares during the period. Warner Music Group comprises about 3.0% of Hahn Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Hahn Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $4,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 130,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,327,000 after purchasing an additional 16,504 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 570,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,570,000 after purchasing an additional 173,680 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,275,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,580,000 after buying an additional 16,295 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $28.33 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The firm has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.07. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $23.34 and a 52 week high of $35.42.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 62.01%. Warner Music Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 price target on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research lowered Warner Music Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.43.

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.