Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Position Reduced by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 14.4% in the first quarter, selling 206,442 shares and retaining 1.23 million shares valued at approximately $33.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 59.95%, with several investors increasing their positions, including Geode Capital Management, Handelsbanken Fonder and Pictet Asset Management.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock holding a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $27.04. WBD recently reported a significant quarterly EPS loss of $1.17, while revenue of $8.89 billion was essentially in line with estimates.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,226,839 shares of the company's stock after selling 206,442 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $33,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WBD. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,008,638 shares of the company's stock worth $29,069,000 after buying an additional 571,612 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 51,920 shares in the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at $12,372,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,912,634,000 after buying an additional 1,028,346 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,212,473 shares of the company's stock worth $34,943,000 after acquiring an additional 170,802 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Seaport Research Partners lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Huber Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

WBD opened at $26.30 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.76 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The stock has a market cap of $65.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.57 and a beta of 1.54.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS 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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