Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 294,999 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,877 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Warner Music Group worth $9,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Warner Music Group by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Warner Music Group by 71.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WMG shares. Barclays raised their price target on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America raised Warner Music Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.72.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $31.01 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.43. The firm has a market cap of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.24. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $36.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.08.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.21). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 64.64%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.76%.

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.