Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $34.96 and last traded at $34.22, with a volume of 83868 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMG. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank raised shares of Warner Music Group from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.38.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 0.7%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.09 and its 200-day moving average is $29.02. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62.

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

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 89.41%.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Warner Music Group by 23.5% during 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 last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Warner Music Group by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in Warner Music Group by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 3,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Warner Music Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Warner Music Group by 4.3% during the 4th 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.