Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 531,395 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 4.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,777,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 531,395 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $350,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,123,807,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at $74,916,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,189,000 after acquiring an additional 5,798,592 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the third quarter worth $100,135,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 509.5% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 5,981,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,396,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000,437 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Negative Sentiment: A federal judge will rule by July 22 on California’s request to temporarily freeze Paramount’s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, increasing the risk of a near-term delay to the deal. Judge delays ruling on California’s bid to freeze Paramount’s $111B takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: California and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general are pushing an antitrust case to pause the merger, and media reports suggest Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount may have to delay closing while the legal fight plays out. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Faces State Lawsuit Over $110 Billion Merger Pause
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount has publicly argued the states’ antitrust case is unusually weak, but that defense does not remove the immediate legal uncertainty around the transaction. Paramount Calls the States’ Antitrust Case Against Warner Bros. Merger ‘One of the Weakest’ in Modern History
• Neutral Sentiment: Several shareholder lawsuits and related responses have added more headlines, but these appear secondary to the main issue: whether regulators or the court will block or delay the deal. Paramount and Warner Bros expect a delay in closing the deal

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Huber Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD opened at $26.87 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $67.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.39 and a beta of 1.54. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.76 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00.

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

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.