Partners Group Holding AG Takes Position in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Partners Group Holding AG purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 45,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,410,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 120.1% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 20.1% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.38.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $34.29 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.04. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $23.34 and a 52 week high of $34.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The company has a market cap of $17.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.25.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued 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. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 62.01%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.41%.

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.