Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Receives $36.17 Consensus PT from Analysts

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.17.

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

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $12,007,352.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,113,588. This trade represents a 15.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757. 73.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMG. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 41.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,201,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,903,000 after acquiring an additional 3,881,684 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,861,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,679,000 after acquiring an additional 192,215 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 2,699.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,217,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,207,000 after acquiring an additional 7,923,926 shares in the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in Warner Music Group by 91.5% during the third quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 5,264,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,514,715 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG opened at $32.92 on Friday. Warner Music Group has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $38.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.36 and a 200 day moving average of $30.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is 69.23%.

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.