Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) to Issue $0.17 Quarterly Dividend

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 9th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 21st will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share on Friday, December 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 20th.

Warner Music Group has a payout ratio of 56.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Warner Music Group to earn $1.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.3%.

Warner Music Group Price Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $31.81 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.56. Warner Music Group has a 52-week low of $23.62 and a 52-week high of $38.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Warner Music Group from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Music Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the first quarter worth $26,000. Ossiam boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 31.1% during the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the second quarter worth $125,000. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Warner Music Group by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Warner Music Group during the first quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.23% of the company’s stock.

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.