Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Shares Down 7.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) dropped 7.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $30.72 and last traded at $31.00. Approximately 148,268 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 1,782,578 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WMG. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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, October 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial dropped their price objective on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.23%.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the 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 directly owns 2,289,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,113,588. This trade represents a 15.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757 in the last quarter. 73.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 74.5% during the second 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. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Warner Music Group by 5,790.5% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at about $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.