Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.18

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 8th,Zacks Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share on Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th.

Warner Music Group has raised its dividend by an average of 40.1% per year over the last three years. Warner Music Group has a payout ratio of 50.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Warner Music Group to earn $1.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.1%.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMG traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,179,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,814,698. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.37. Warner Music Group has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $38.05.

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. On average, research analysts expect that Warner Music Group will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, July 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Macquarie lowered their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,113,588. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757. Company insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

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.