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

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.81.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMG. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $33.78 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.34.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.47%.

Insider Activity at Warner Music Group

In related news, Director Valentin Blavatnik sold 28,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Matusch sold 1,103 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $40,248.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,649 shares in the company, valued at $3,234,802.01. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,333 shares of company stock worth $2,124,602 over the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.