Cerity Partners LLC Takes Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 94,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,402,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 30.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 54,882,034 shares of the company's stock worth $1,224,418,000 after purchasing an additional 12,783,448 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 7.3% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,333,056 shares of the company's stock worth $796,459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,874 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 9.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,832,568 shares of the company's stock worth $191,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,851 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 15.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,299,798 shares of the company's stock worth $171,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 1.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,450,500 shares of the company's stock worth $255,814,000 after purchasing an additional 192,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company's stock.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Shares of PARA traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.44. 45,625,404 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,872,332. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of -12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $11.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.87. Paramount Global has a 52-week low of $10.12 and a 52-week high of $24.00.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.80 billion. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 2.05% and a positive return on equity of 1.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Paramount Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -19.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PARA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Paramount Global from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.79.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.