Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $16.87 Million in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 495,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,873,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.10% of Warner Music Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 480.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 528.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the first quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 170.1% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $29.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.93, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.59. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.14). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 47.78% and a net margin of 5.44%.The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.94.

Warner Music Group Company Profile

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.