Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Director Sells $1,083,600.00 in Stock

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) Director Lincoln E. Benet sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.96, for a total value of $1,083,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 242,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,503,465.60. This trade represents a 12.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Warner Music Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Warner Music Group stock opened at $31.07 on Thursday. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1-year low of $27.06 and a 1-year high of $38.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 69.29%. Warner Music Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is 86.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 2,699.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 8,217,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,207,000 after purchasing an additional 7,923,926 shares during the period. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Warner Music Group by 47.4% during the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,418,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594,994 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 91.5% in the third quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 5,264,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,514,715 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the second quarter worth about $160,156,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,061,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,122,000 after purchasing an additional 831,114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price 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, November 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Warner Music Group from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Music Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.67.

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.