Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Stake Trimmed by Independent Franchise Partners LLP

Key Points

• Independent Franchise Partners LLP trimmed its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 409,958 shares and leaving it with 12.7 million shares worth about $365.9 million.
• Merger progress is the main catalyst: reports say Chinese regulators and the DOJ have cleared the Paramount Skydance-WBD deal, reducing regulatory risk and supporting the merger-arbitrage thesis.
• Despite the deal optimism, WBD shares were down 1.4% and the stock still trades below the proposed $31 cash buyout price, while analysts currently rate it a consensus Hold.

Independent Franchise Partners LLP lowered its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,697,174 shares of the company's stock after selling 409,958 shares during the quarter. Warner Bros. Discovery makes up 2.3% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned about 0.51% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $365,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter worth about $1,123,807,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,492,112,000 after acquiring an additional 18,736,600 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $685,413,000 after acquiring an additional 18,291,865 shares in the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,916,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,189,000 after acquiring an additional 5,798,592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Chinese regulators reportedly cleared the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, removing another hurdle for the deal and boosting the odds that WBD shareholders receive the agreed cash value. Chinese regulators clear Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros Discovery merger, source says
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say the DOJ has already approved the merger, which lowers regulatory risk and strengthens the merger-arbitrage case for WBD. Paramount Skydance wins DOJ approval for Warner Bros. Discovery merger
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights the deal as a major catalyst, noting WBD still trades below the $31 cash buyout price, leaving a potential merger-arbitrage spread for investors. Plot Twist: How the $110B Paramount-Warner Deal Rewrites Media
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector articles discussing APAC growth, local content, and broader streaming competition provide background on the media landscape, but do not appear to be a direct stock-moving catalyst for WBD today. Netflix, Prime Video, Disney and WBD on Local Content and APAC Growth
• Negative Sentiment: The stock also weakened in the latest session, with coverage pointing to WBD falling more than the broader market, reflecting ongoing investor caution despite the merger news. Here's Why Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Fell More Than Broader Market

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $26.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $65.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.49 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.27 and a 52-week high of $30.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.62.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Moffett Nathanson raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.04.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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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