Private Management Group Inc. Has $78.73 Million Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Private Management Group Inc. reduced its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, but still held 2,731,816 shares valued at about $78.7 million, making WBD its second-largest holding.
• Other major investors also adjusted positions in WBD, including a new large stake from Norges Bank and continued buying by firms like Vanguard; overall, institutional investors own 59.95% of the stock.
• Analysts remain cautious on WBD: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with a $27.04 average price target, while the company’s latest earnings missed EPS estimates and revenue slipped 1% year over year.

Private Management Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,731,816 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,242,855 shares during the quarter. Warner Bros. Discovery accounts for about 2.3% of Private Management Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Private Management Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $78,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,123,807,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,492,112,000 after purchasing an additional 18,736,600 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% in the third quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $685,413,000 after purchasing an additional 18,291,865 shares in the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,916,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,189,000 after purchasing an additional 5,798,592 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WBD. UBS Group raised their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Argus cut their price objective 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. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

WBD opened at $26.86 on Friday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.98 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The stock has a market cap of $67.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.37 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.13 and a 200-day moving average of $27.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($1.07). The business 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was 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 directly owned 244,357 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,683,163.95. This trade represents a 71.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total value of $961,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 95,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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