Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Stake Increased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by 149.3% during the first quarter, now holding 1,746,928 shares valued at approximately $18.7 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own nearly 60% of Warner Bros. Discovery's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.63, significantly exceeding analysts’ expectations of ($0.16).

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 149.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,746,928 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,046,277 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $18,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company's stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 51,920 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 201.5% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 43,203 shares of the company's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 28,874 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,844,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,906,000 after purchasing an additional 65,939 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 177,265 shares of the company's stock worth $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 36,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 176.5% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 30,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 19,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Warner Bros. Discovery stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,427,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,309,560. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.78 and a 12 month high of $13.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $28.62 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.57. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $11.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.39.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.79. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 2.14%. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($4.07) EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WBD. Bank of America raised their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, Director Anton J. Levy bought 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.00 per share, with a total value of $825,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 949,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,439,000. This trade represents a 8.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.