The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.5%, owning 24,672,364 shares valued at approximately $264.7 million after additional purchases in the first quarter.
• A significant insider transaction occurred when Director Anton J. Levy acquired 250,000 shares at an average price of $10.90, raising his total holdings to 874,000 shares.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus rating for Warner Bros. Discovery, with an average target price of $13.14 per share, indicating potential upside.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,672,364 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,063,535 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 1.01% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $264,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WBD. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on WBD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of 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. Huber Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.14.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock traded down $0.42 on Monday, hitting $11.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 60,181,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,022,940. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.78 and a 52-week 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.49. The company has a market capitalization of $28.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.59.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 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 business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($4.07) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, Director Anton J. Levy bought 250,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $2,725,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 874,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,526,600. This trade represents a 40.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

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.