Norges Bank Invests $1.12 Billion in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery, buying 38.99 million shares valued at about $1.12 billion and ending with roughly 1.57% ownership.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported a Q1 EPS loss of $1.17, well below estimates, while revenue came in at $8.89 billion, matching expectations and slipping 1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average "Hold" rating with a price target of about $27.04, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 38,994,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,807,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.57% of Warner Bros. Discovery at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,438,000. Hauser Brothers GmbH raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 19.8% during the third 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 raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 32.7% during the third 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,383,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.3% during the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 0.1%

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.01 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $67.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.59 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.11 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.25.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. Analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WBD. UBS Group upped their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Argus cut their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued 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, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Warner Bros. Discovery 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,625,411.72. This trade represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025 in the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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