Aberdeen Group plc Has $50.23 Million Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group trimmed its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.2% in Q4, holding 1,742,937 shares worth about $50.23 million after selling 39,094 shares.
• Insiders sold heavily last quarter — including a 600,000‑share sale by director Paul A. Gould — totaling 8,206,827 shares valued at roughly $230.7 million, leaving insiders with about 1.90% ownership.
• Analysts have a consensus "Hold" rating with a $26.30 target; WBD recently missed EPS (−$0.10 vs. $0.09 expected) while reporting $9.46 billion in revenue.

Aberdeen Group plc cut its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,742,937 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,094 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.07% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $50,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% in 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 last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 152.1% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 66.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1,242.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 1,718 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total value of $961,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,625,411.72. This trade represents a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.35, for a total value of $16,410,000.00. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock worth $230,674,025 in the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on WBD shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Arete Research restated a "neutral" rating and set a $31.25 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 target price on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.30.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

WBD opened at $27.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.21 and a beta of 1.63. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.24. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.52 and a 12 month high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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