Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Shares Sold by Mackay Shields LLC

Key Points

• Mackay Shields cut its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 43.4% in Q4, selling 173,750 shares and ending the quarter with 226,250 shares worth about $6.52M.
• Insider selling: CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares (~$113.2M) and insiders have disposed of 8,206,827 shares worth $230.7M in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with roughly 1.9% ownership.
• Merger and governance developments: Shareholders approved the $81B Paramount Skydance merger—raising the odds of a close—but they rejected Zaslav’s pay package and protests/competitive pushback pose regulatory and integration risks; the company also missed Q4 EPS estimates (‑$0.10 vs. $0.09 expected).

Mackay Shields LLC decreased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 226,250 shares of the company's stock after selling 173,750 shares during the quarter. Mackay Shields LLC's holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $6,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WBD. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 6,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 600,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $16,812,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 672,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,847,624.98. The trade was a 47.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total value of $113,157,250.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 7,200,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $203,489,719.02. This trade represents a 35.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,206,827 shares of company stock worth $230,674,025 in the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Bros. Discovery this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger agreement with Paramount Skydance, removing a major corporate-governance obstacle and increasing the likelihood the $81B transaction will close — a primary catalyst that supports a takeover premium and M&A re-rating. Warner Bros. Discovery Stockholders Approve Transaction with Paramount Skydance
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD set the date and time for its Q1 2026 earnings call (Wednesday, May 6, after market close) — a scheduled catalyst that could drive near-term volatility depending on revenue/profit guidance and merger-related commentary. Warner Bros. Discovery Updates the Date and Time of its First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders voted down the proposed exit/pay package for CEO David Zaslav and other executives — a sign of shareholder activism and governance friction that could complicate management transitions or retention but reduces a perceived large costs tied to the deal. WBD shareholders approve the Paramount mega-merger — but reject David Zaslav's pay package
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD shares showed recent weakness versus the broader market, underscoring near-term volatility as investors price the merger, integration risk and upcoming earnings. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Protests and political criticism claim the merger could threaten jobs (notably in NYC) and draw public/political pushback — potential PR/regulatory headaches that could slow integration or invite stricter conditions. Zohran Mamdani rips Warner Bros. Discovery's Paramount merger
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that competitors (reportedly Netflix) have been quietly trying to interfere with the merger raise the prospect of industry pushback or competitive maneuvering that could complicate closing or increase deal costs. Netflix reportedly quietly interfering with Warner Bros.-Paramount merger
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing protests and media scrutiny create reputational and execution risk during the integration phase, which could pressure shares if investors fear delays, divestitures or regulatory remedies. Flurry Of Protests As WBD Shareholders Set To Vote On Paramount Merger

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBD opened at $27.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.35 and a beta of 1.63. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.71 and a 200 day moving average of $26.10.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 1.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.20) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $29.50 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $31.25 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Huber Research downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.30.

Warner Bros. Discovery 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WBD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.