Warner Music Group’s (WMG) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Macquarie

Macquarie reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $30.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Warner Music Group from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on Warner Music Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMG opened at $31.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.78 and its 200-day moving average is $30.62. Warner Music Group has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $38.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.75%.

Insider Transactions at Warner Music Group

In other news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $12,007,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at $64,113,588. This trade represents a 15.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757 over the last ninety days. 73.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 74.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 5,790.5% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 9,400.0% during the third 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 bought a new stake in Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $73,000. 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.