Handelsbanken Fonder AB Makes New $925,000 Investment in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 30,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 480.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the third quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 61.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $39.00 target price on Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.38.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 3.6%

WMG opened at $33.30 on Thursday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $23.34 and a twelve month high of $35.42. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.19. The company has a market cap of $17.37 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.25.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.