Assetmark Inc. Acquires 107,944 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) by 24.3% in Q4, buying 107,944 shares to hold 552,967 shares worth about $15.94 million.
• Insiders sold a total of 8,206,827 shares valued at $230.7 million over the last quarter — including sizable sales by Gerhard Zeiler and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels — leaving insiders with just 1.90% ownership.
• Takeover speculation (Paramount/Skydance interest) remains live but faces growing creator and congressional scrutiny that elevates deal and regulatory risk, while WBD’s Q1 results on May 7 are a near-term catalyst.

Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 552,967 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 107,944 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $15,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% during the third 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 during the period. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% during the third 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,496,725 shares of the company's stock worth $458,891,000 after purchasing an additional 876,869 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,639.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,788,847 shares of the company's stock worth $445,066,000 after purchasing an additional 22,308,046 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 9.7% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,820,858 shares of the company's stock worth $367,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBD opened at $27.39 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $27.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.76. The stock has a market cap of $67.93 billion, a PE ratio of 94.45 and a beta of 1.63. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.75 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 600,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $16,812,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 672,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,847,624.98. The trade was a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 374,323 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $10,499,760.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 663,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,607,809. This represents a 36.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025 over the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, February 27th. Argus reduced their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, February 27th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.30.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount Skydance’s CEO is actively courting theater owners and reiterating a commitment to wide theatrical release schedules if the proposed $110B deal clears regulators — a sign the buyer is pushing to reassure stakeholders and advance the transaction, which could support a takeover premium for WBD. Ellison takes Paramount, Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
• Neutral Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery set its Q1 2026 earnings release and conference call for May 7 (pre-market), creating a clear near-term catalyst investors can trade around and use to reassess subscriber, ad, and content-margin trends. Warner Bros. Discovery to Report First Quarter 2026 Results on Thursday, May 7
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix executives publicly acknowledged that the company gained M&A experience during its effort to pursue Warner Bros — a sign of persistent industry interest in WBD assets but not an immediate bid development; this keeps takeover speculation alive but uncertain. Netflix “Really Built Our M&A Muscle” During Warner Bros Pursuit, Ted Sarandos Says
• Negative Sentiment: Growing public opposition from high-profile creators and proposed congressional scrutiny (Sen. Cory Booker’s planned “spotlight” hearing) increase regulatory and political risk for the Paramount/Skydance takeover, raising the chance of deal delay, conditions, or a hostile rewrite — a major downside risk for WBD’s premium. Cory Booker To Hold “Spotlight” Hearing On Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger, Invites David Ellison To Testify
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage highlighting industry backlash and warnings that the merger could hollow out creative hubs (e.g., concern the Warner lot could become a “ghost town”) adds reputational and integration risk, which could pressure sentiment if lawmakers and creators mobilize. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Blockbuster Deal Faces a Hostile Rewrite

Warner Bros. Discovery Profile

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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