Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 1,028,346 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,028,346 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 66.6 million shares worth about $1.91 billion.
• Analyst sentiment on WBD remains cautious overall: several firms maintained or set neutral/equal weight ratings, and the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $27.04.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting EPS of -$1.17 versus expectations of -$0.10, while revenue of $8.89 billion matched estimates and declined 1% year over year.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,597,575 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,028,346 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.69% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $1,912,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,438,000. Hauser Brothers GmbH lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 476,000 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 43,240 shares during the last quarter. Triad Investment Management acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,383,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 38,105 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on WBD shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price target on Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Argus dropped their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBD opened at $27.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, a PE ratio of -38.63 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.26. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.11 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 company 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%. Warner Bros. Discovery's revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 617,580 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $17,446,635.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 691,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,536,852.50. The trade was a 47.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 1,580,331 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $44,249,268.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 690,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,320,784. This represents a 69.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock worth $230,674,025. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

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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