Vestcor Inc Acquires 200,000 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 423.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 247,260 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $7,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,730.8% during the fourth quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 1,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD opened at $26.24 on Friday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.11 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The stock has a market cap of $65.79 billion, a PE ratio of -37.49 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.18 and a 200-day moving average of $27.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 4.77%. The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.35, for a total value of $16,410,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 244,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,683,163.95. The trade was a 71.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total transaction of $961,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 676,784 shares of company stock worth $18,534,231. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Bros. Discovery this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery signed a World Series of Poker broadcast deal, which adds another content partnership and could support its media and sports programming strategy. WBD signs World Series of Poker broadcast deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted WBD has been little changed since its last earnings report, with investors still waiting for a clearer operational turnaround. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Down 0.4% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at blocking the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction, while other reports say states are preparing their own legal challenge, keeping the deal in limbo. U.S. states are preparing a lawsuit to block Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros
• Negative Sentiment: State attorneys general planning a lawsuit to block the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is the biggest near-term concern, since it raises the odds of delay or even failure of the deal. Stock Market Today, June 5: Warner Bros. Discovery Falls on Reports of State Antitrust Challenge to Paramount Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Political scrutiny is increasing, with Senator Elizabeth Warren calling for a foreign-ownership review of the Paramount-WBD deal, adding another potential hurdle. Elizabeth Warren Calls For Foreign Ownership Review Of Paramount-WBD

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Huber Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.04.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a global media and entertainment company formed when WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc combined their businesses in 2022. Headquartered in New York City, the company assembles a broad portfolio of film and television production, linear and cable networks, streaming services and consumer distribution operations. Its assets span well-known studio brands, premium scripted and unscripted programming, news and factual entertainment, and licensed franchise properties.

The company’s core activities include film and television production and distribution through units such as Warner Bros.