The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 125,526 Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 367,903 shares of the company's stock after selling 125,526 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Paramount Global worth $3,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Paramount Global by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam grew its position in shares of Paramount Global by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 2,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Paramount Global by 187.8% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 73.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PARA shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Paramount Global from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.58.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Shares of PARA traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $11.95. 8,104,862 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,429,185. Paramount Global has a 52 week low of $9.54 and a 52 week high of $13.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $11.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.07. The firm has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 18.89% and a positive return on equity of 5.81%. The business had revenue of $7.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Paramount Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.43%.

Paramount Global Profile

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.