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

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 8,171 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 3,453% compared to the typical daily volume of 230 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 127.0% in the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 13,378,864 shares of the company's stock worth $419,427,000 after acquiring an additional 7,483,839 shares in the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 7,206.3% in the 4th quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 6,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $186,000,000 after acquiring an additional 5,917,879 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,296,700 shares of the company's stock worth $479,552,000 after acquiring an additional 4,097,688 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 7,920,342 shares of the company's stock worth $245,531,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darlington Partners Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 10,370,280 shares of the company's stock worth $321,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500,000 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Music Group Trading Up 1.7%

WMG traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.99. 2,419,229 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,785,620. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.13. Warner Music Group has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $36.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.24.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.52 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 64.64%. Warner Music Group's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Warner Music Group will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMG shares. FBN Securities started coverage on Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised Warner Music Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $34.00 target price (down previously from $35.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Warner Music Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $35.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Music Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.95.

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.