Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Bought by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 424,083 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,799 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.08% of Warner Music Group worth $13,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Warner Music Group by 74.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMG shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Warner Music Group stock opened at $32.52 on Monday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12-month low of $27.06 and a 12-month high of $38.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.20). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 69.29% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. Warner Music Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.75%.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin’ Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.