QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 222,580 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 864.7% in Q4, buying 222,580 shares and increasing its holding to 248,322 shares valued at about $7.16 million.
• Insiders have been heavy sellers recently—Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 374,323 shares, with insiders offloading 8,206,827 shares (~$230.7 million) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders owning 1.8% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $26.30; WBD opened at $27.22, has a $68.24B market cap and a P/E of 93.88, and missed Q4 EPS expectations (‑$0.10 vs. $0.09 expected).

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 864.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,322 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 222,580 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $7,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 152.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1,242.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 1,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WBD shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.30.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director owned 95,539 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,411.72. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 374,323 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $10,499,760.15. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 663,380 shares in the company, valued at $18,607,809. This trade represents a 36.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD opened at $27.22 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $68.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.88 and a beta of 1.57. The business's 50 day moving average price is $27.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.53. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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