Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.17.

Several analysts recently commented on WMG shares. Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 135,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total transaction of $3,812,077.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,725,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,790,405.88. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757. 73.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 239.3% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 45,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 32,300 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,628,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,284,000 after buying an additional 49,166 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at $2,352,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at $1,373,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Warner Music Group during the third quarter worth $304,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Warner Music Group stock opened at $32.93 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.68. The stock has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $38.05.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 69.23%.

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.