Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) CEO Max Lousada Sells 135,324 Shares

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) CEO Max Lousada sold 135,324 shares of Warner Music Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.17, for a total transaction of $3,812,077.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,725,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,790,405.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• 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 transaction of $1,809,327.75.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Warner Music Group stock opened at $28.17 on Friday. 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 $14.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from Warner Music Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, July 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMG. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at $414,000. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at about $214,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 50,679 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $599,000. Finally, Linonia Partnership LP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the second quarter worth $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.