Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Stock Price

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) had its target price cut by Barclays from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on WMG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Macquarie lowered their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial cut their price objective on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 2.1 %

WMG stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,666,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,561,219. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $31.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.68. The stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Warner Music Group's payout ratio is currently 86.75%.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 135,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total transaction of $3,812,077.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,725,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,790,405.88. The trade was a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757 in the last three months. Insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 74.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 5,790.5% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the third quarter worth approximately $73,000. Institutional investors own 96.88% 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.