Macquarie Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG)

Macquarie restated their neutral rating on shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $30.00 price target on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Tigress Financial lowered their price target 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WMG opened at $31.85 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.78 and a 200-day moving average of $30.68. The company has a market capitalization 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.68. Warner Music Group has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $38.05.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Warner Music Group news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,113,588. This trade represents a 15.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock worth $17,628,757 in the last quarter. Insiders own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Warner Music Group by 74.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. 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.