Newport Trust Company LLC Sells 628,009 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Newport Trust Company LLC reduced its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 628,009 shares and leaving it with 7.55 million shares valued at about $217.6 million.
• Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest earnings missed expectations, with quarterly EPS of -$1.17 versus the -$0.10 estimate, while revenue came in at $8.89 billion and was down 1% year over year.
• Insider selling has been heavy, including large share sales by CEO David Zaslav and insider Bruce Campbell, with insiders selling 8.2 million shares worth about $230.7 million over the last 90 days.

Newport Trust Company LLC trimmed its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,550,349 shares of the company's stock after selling 628,009 shares during the period. Warner Bros. Discovery comprises about 0.5% of Newport Trust Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Newport Trust Company LLC owned 0.30% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $217,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Optas LLC grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 6,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $27.11 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.28 and its 200-day moving average is $27.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.97 billion, a PE ratio of -38.73 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.83 and a 52 week high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.Warner Bros. Discovery's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $113,157,250.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 7,200,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,489,719.02. This represents a 35.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 1,580,331 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 690,028 shares in the company, valued at $19,320,784. This trade represents a 69.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WBD. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Huber Research cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $29.50 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.36.

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paul Tudor Jones’ hedge fund reportedly bought 7 million shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which may signal that sophisticated investors see upside in the company’s turnaround or merger-related value creation.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street banks led by JPMorgan reportedly expanded WBD’s refinancing loan package to more than $10 billion, suggesting lenders are still willing to support the company’s debt restructuring ahead of the planned Paramount merger. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports say Paramount is still aiming to close the merger as early as July, or by the third quarter, which keeps the deal timeline intact but does not remove execution risk.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noted WBD shares outperformed peers on a strong trading day, reflecting renewed trading interest rather than a clearly company-specific catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Democratic senators raised concerns about foreign ownership in the proposed Paramount-WBD merger and urged a rigorous FCC review, increasing the chance of regulatory delays. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that bondholders are pushing back on the debt swap and that the merger could trigger credit downgrades highlight financing and credit-risk concerns around the deal, which may weigh on WBD sentiment. Article Title

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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