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

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $12,007,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,289,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,113,588. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 transaction of $3,812,077.08.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Max Lousada sold 64,047 shares of Warner Music Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $1,809,327.75.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMG remained flat at $27.95 during midday trading on Tuesday. 1,875,959 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,895,906. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.37. Warner Music Group Corp. has a one year low of $27.06 and a one year high of $38.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.43.

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

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMG. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Warner Music Group by 7,814.8% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 19,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 820,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,382,000 after acquiring an additional 19,104 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Warner Music Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,349,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,294,000 after buying an additional 8,202 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,628,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the 4th quarter valued at $457,000. 96.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WMG. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, July 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.19.

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.