Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Warner Music Group Put Options (NASDAQ:WMG)

Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 32,022 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 10,263% compared to the typical volume of 309 put options.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

Shares of WMG stock opened at $30.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.63, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.41 and its 200 day moving average is $30.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. Warner Music Group has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $36.64.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMG. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 1,136,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,704,000 after purchasing an additional 330,257 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group during the third quarter valued at about $2,688,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 156.8% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 42,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after buying an additional 25,998 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Warner Music Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,604,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Music Group by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 175,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,977,000 after buying an additional 73,156 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WMG shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.76.

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.