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

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.81.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMG shares. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup upgraded Warner Music Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

Warner Music Group stock opened at $32.33 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $32.85 and a 200-day moving average of $31.92. Warner Music Group has a 52-week low of $27.06 and a 52-week high of $36.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last announced 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.47%.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $40,248.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,234,802.01. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Warner Music Group by 379.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.