Covalis Capital LLP Has $15.44 Million Position in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Covalis Capital LLP raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) by 203.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 566,627 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 379,661 shares during the period. Warner Music Group makes up approximately 1.9% of Covalis Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Covalis Capital LLP’s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $15,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,157,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 10.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,379,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,979 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the first quarter worth approximately $1,746,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 4.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 997,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,263,000 after acquiring an additional 43,666 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,673,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WMG opened at $30.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.84, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.19 and its 200 day moving average is $30.45. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $36.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.14). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 39.95% and a net margin of 4.59%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 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, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMG. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.88.

About Warner Music Group

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.