Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Trading Up 3.8%

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) shares were up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $35.19 and last traded at $34.59. Approximately 229,771 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,421,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMG shares. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Warner Music Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $17.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.81.

Warner Music Group Stock Up 5.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.50. The company has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.46. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $34.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.85.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 128.86% and a net margin of 7.42%. As a group, analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.27%.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Ossiam increased its holdings in Warner Music Group by 31.1% in the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Warner Music Group in the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.