Ardmore Road Asset Management LP Acquires 322,640 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Ardmore Road Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 61.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 843,836 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 322,640 shares during the period. Ardmore Road Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.16% of Warner Music Group worth $21,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMG. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 3,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of Warner Music Group stock opened at $26.55 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The company has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.30. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $23.34 and a 12 month high of $35.42.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 62.01% and a net margin of 6.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 89.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Guggenheim increased their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.43.

Warner Music Group 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.