ING Groep NV Boosts Stock Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• ING Groep NV sharply increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, boosting holdings by 545.3% in the fourth quarter to 1.88 million shares, worth about $54.1 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including Directors Fazal F. Merchant and Paul A. Gould, with total insider sales of 676,784 shares valued at roughly $18.5 million over the last three months.
• Warner Bros. Discovery remains under pressure on fundamentals and analyst sentiment: its latest quarter missed EPS expectations, revenue was slightly down year over year, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with a target price of $27.04.

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 545.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,878,173 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,587,114 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned 0.08% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $54,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WBD. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 6,396 shares of the company's stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,879 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,120 shares of the company's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 95,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,625,411.72. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.35, for a total transaction of $16,410,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 244,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,683,163.95. This represents a 71.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 676,784 shares of company stock valued at $18,534,231 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $26.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $65.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.49 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.11 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.40.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Arete Research reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $31.25 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.04.

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery signed a World Series of Poker broadcast deal, which adds another content partnership and could support its media and sports programming strategy. WBD signs World Series of Poker broadcast deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted WBD has been little changed since its last earnings report, with investors still waiting for a clearer operational turnaround. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Down 0.4% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at blocking the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction, while other reports say states are preparing their own legal challenge, keeping the deal in limbo. U.S. states are preparing a lawsuit to block Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros
• Negative Sentiment: State attorneys general planning a lawsuit to block the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is the biggest near-term concern, since it raises the odds of delay or even failure of the deal. Stock Market Today, June 5: Warner Bros. Discovery Falls on Reports of State Antitrust Challenge to Paramount Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Political scrutiny is increasing, with Senator Elizabeth Warren calling for a foreign-ownership review of the Paramount-WBD deal, adding another potential hurdle. Elizabeth Warren Calls For Foreign Ownership Review Of Paramount-WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery Company 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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