Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors cut its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 5.8% in the first quarter, selling about 1.05 million shares and ending with 16.99 million shares worth roughly $466.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding about 59.95% of WBD, and several firms recently increasing their positions despite Dimensional’s reduction.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with a $27.04 price target, even as some firms upgraded the shares and others turned more bearish.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,995,395 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,046,490 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.68% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $466,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company's stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 51,920 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 21,228 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 55,837 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,450 shares of the company's stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 4,062 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WBD. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of WBD opened at $25.86 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.94 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.76 and a 1-year high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Warner Bros. Discovery's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current year.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Negative Sentiment: The proposed Paramount-WBD merger has been temporarily halted, removing an immediate takeover catalyst and increasing uncertainty around deal completion. Paramount and Warner Bros. merger hit with temporary restraining order
• Negative Sentiment: A coalition of state attorneys general is challenging the transaction on antitrust grounds, which could prolong the legal process or derail the acquisition altogether. Judge orders Paramount to temporarily pause Warner Bros acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage also noted WBD closed at its lowest level since Dec. 4, reflecting weaker investor sentiment as the merger timeline becomes less certain. Warner Bros. Closes at Lowest Since Dec. 4 | Closing Bell

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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