Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC Lowers Stake in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lessened its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 268,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC owned about 0.05% of Warner Music Group worth $7,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Warner Music Group during the first quarter valued at $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 45.2% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 71.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.82.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $33.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 59.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.08. Warner Music Group Corp. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This is an increase from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.