JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Stock Position in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,444,914 shares of the company’s stock after selling 431,238 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $491,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 774.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,361,000. DigitalBridge Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 41.0% in the third quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 1,136,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,704,000 after purchasing an additional 330,257 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,688,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 156.8% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 42,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 25,998 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG opened at $26.48 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.66, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.30. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $34.63.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). Warner Music Group had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 38.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is currently 131.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WMG. Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Warner Music Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $33.00 price objective on Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.69.

About Warner Music Group

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.