Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $31.86, but opened at $31.19. Warner Music Group shares last traded at $31.34, with a volume of 914,920 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, July 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.33.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 101.32% and a net margin of 8.56%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $12,007,352.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,113,588. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757. Corporate insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 41.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,201,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,903,000 after purchasing an additional 3,881,684 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,861,877 shares of the company's stock worth $391,679,000 after buying an additional 192,215 shares during the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 47.4% during the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company's stock worth $247,418,000 after buying an additional 2,594,994 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $160,156,000. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in Warner Music Group by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,198,892 shares of the company's stock worth $186,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397,232 shares during the period. 96.88% of the stock is currently 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.