Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Lowers Stock Holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Gamco Investors reduced its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 199,696 shares and leaving it with 2.77 million shares worth about $79.8 million.
• Insider selling has been heavy, with director Paul A. Gould and insider Gerhard Zeiler each selling 600,000 shares, and insiders collectively selling 8.2 million shares over the past 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average target price of $26.36, while some firms recently trimmed or lowered their ratings.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,767,823 shares of the company's stock after selling 199,696 shares during the quarter. Warner Bros. Discovery makes up 0.8% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.11% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $79,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WBD. Private Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth $3,438,000. Hauser Brothers GmbH grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 2,877,000 shares of the company's stock worth $56,188,000 after buying an additional 476,000 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 175,293 shares of the company's stock worth $3,423,000 after buying an additional 43,240 shares during the last quarter. Triad Investment Management bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth $9,383,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 916,705 shares of the company's stock worth $26,419,000 after buying an additional 38,105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 600,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 672,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,847,624.98. This trade represents a 47.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WBD shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Argus reduced their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $31.25 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.36.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $26.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $67.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.54 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.94. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 4.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WBD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.