Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Short Interest Down 20.0% in March

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,890,000 shares, a decrease of 20.0% from the February 28th total of 9,860,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ WMG opened at $31.56 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.05. Warner Music Group has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $36.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 79.01%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.76.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In other news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $40,248.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,649 shares in the company, valued at $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction of $1,000,753.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. The trade was a 29.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 72.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 379.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.