Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Receives $35.81 Average PT from Analysts

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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 $35.81.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMG. 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Music Group

In other Warner Music Group news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $1,000,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,958.80. This trade represents a 29.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 72.21% of the company's stock.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMG. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake 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 worth $380,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Services increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 10,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,705 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,967 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Ltd. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 117,095 shares of the company's stock worth $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMG traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,060,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,899,953. Warner Music Group has a twelve month low of $27.06 and a twelve month high of $36.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.87. The company has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is 73.47%.

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.