Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 3,271 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,271 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Independent Franchise Partners LLP bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth about $140,224,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 1st quarter worth approximately $96,971,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 682.8% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,145,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,669,000 after acquiring an additional 6,232,561 shares in the last quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,031,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 63.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,839,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,994,894 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 530,793 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $10,350,463.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,141,150 shares in the company, valued at $22,252,425. This represents a 31.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Anton J. Levy bought 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $2,725,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 874,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,526,600. This trade represents a 40.06% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 970,115 shares of company stock valued at $17,818,490. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $18.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.99. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.25 and a 12 month high of $20.24. The company has a market capitalization of $45.28 billion, a PE ratio of 60.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.79. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 2.14% and a net margin of 2.00%.The company had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($4.07) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Cowen cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Seaport Global Securities increased their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.