429,300 Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Acquired by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD), acquiring 429,300 shares in Q4 valued at about $12.37 million.
• Insiders sold 8,206,827 shares worth $230.67 million over the last quarter, including Director Paul A. Gould's sale of 600,000 shares (~$16.41M); insiders now own 1.80% of the company.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported Q4 EPS of -$0.10 versus a $0.09 estimate while revenue of $9.46 billion beat expectations; the stock carries a MarketBeat consensus "Hold" rating with a $26.30 price target and trades near $27 (52‑week high $30).

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 429,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,372,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WBD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company's stock worth $5,492,112,000 after purchasing an additional 18,736,600 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company's stock worth $685,413,000 after purchasing an additional 18,291,865 shares in the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,916,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 170.1% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 9,326,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,156,000 after acquiring an additional 5,873,183 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,189,000 after acquiring an additional 5,798,592 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of the 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 owned 244,357 shares in the company, valued at $6,683,163.95. This represents a 71.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock worth $230,674,025. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 0.0%

WBD stock opened at $26.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.97 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $27.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.47. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 1.95%.The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WBD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $29.50 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.30.

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.

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