Warner Music Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:WMG)

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 18,018 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,193% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,394 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Music Group during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Warner Music Group Stock Down 1.5 %

WMG traded down $0.42 on Friday, hitting $28.26. The company had a trading volume of 411,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,904,727. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.86. Warner Music Group has a 12-month low of $27.06 and a 12-month high of $38.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is an increase from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Warner Music Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.00%.

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.