Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 711,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,484 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.14% of Warner Music Group worth $22,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the first quarter worth about $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 101.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 45.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 71.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on WMG shares. Bank of America raised Warner Music Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price target (down previously from $35.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.88.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $33.35 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 58.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.17. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $25.56 and a 1-year high of $36.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 39.95%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

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.