Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.76.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMG. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. FBN Securities assumed coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised Warner Music Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ WMG traded up $0.60 on Monday, hitting $29.19. 351,150 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,952,319. Warner Music Group has a fifty-two week low of $27.06 and a fifty-two week high of $36.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67. The company has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32.

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Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.11. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 79.01% and a net margin of 8.07%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $40,248.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $1,000,753.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. The trade was a 29.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,333 shares of company stock valued at $1,072,432 in the last three months. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 10,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Ltd. CA raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 117,095 shares of the company's stock worth $3,630,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

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.