MML Investors Services LLC Purchases New Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 75,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,352,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WMG. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $606,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 2,699.4% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,217,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,207,000 after purchasing an additional 7,923,926 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Warner Music Group in the third quarter worth $15,766,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 355.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 44,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 34,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,956,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $32.52 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.71. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $38.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 69.29% and a net margin of 6.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 86.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Tigress Financial dropped their target price on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

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.