Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Holdings Boosted by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 22.3% in the first quarter, now owning 244,873 shares worth approximately $2.5 million.
• Several institutional investors have modified their holdings, with KBC Group NV increasing its stake by 682.8% during the same period, now owning over 7 million shares valued at $76.6 million.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported an EPS of $0.63 for the quarter, significantly exceeding estimates, along with a 1.0% increase in revenue year-over-year to $9.81 billion.

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 22.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,873 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,674 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $2,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,914,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth $3,022,000. Hi Line Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 17.8% during the first quarter. Hi Line Capital Management LLC now owns 597,478 shares of the company's stock worth $6,411,000 after acquiring an additional 90,462 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 682.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,145,308 shares of the company's stock worth $76,669,000 after acquiring an additional 6,232,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dupree Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter valued at $2,884,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBD has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 0.6%

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $11.85 on Monday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.78 and a 52 week high of $13.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.50, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.57. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $11.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.37.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 2.14% and a net margin of 2.00%. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($4.07) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, Director Anton J. Levy bought 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $2,725,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 874,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,526,600. This trade represents a 40.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery 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.

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