Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) CEO Max Lousada Sells 428,834 Shares of Stock

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $12,007,352.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at $64,113,588. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Max Lousada also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 5th, Max Lousada sold 135,324 shares of Warner Music Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total value of $3,812,077.08.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of Warner Music Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $1,809,327.75.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG opened at $27.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.40 and its 200-day moving average is $31.39. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12-month low of $27.06 and a 12-month high of $38.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.37.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 101.32% and a net margin of 8.56%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, July 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter worth about $414,000. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Warner Music Group by 35,439.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 50,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 50,679 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $599,000. Finally, Linonia Partnership LP purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at $21,132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.