Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd Takes $146.23 Million Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 13,979,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $146,230,000. Paramount Global makes up approximately 9.0% of Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd owned 2.10% of Paramount Global at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Paramount Global by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 92,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 129.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 17,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 20,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PARA opened at $11.74 on Thursday. Paramount Global has a 1 year low of $9.54 and a 1 year high of $14.54. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.10 and a 200 day moving average of $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $7.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PARA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.10.

Paramount Global Company Profile

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.