ING Groep NV Acquires 1,587,114 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 545.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,878,173 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,587,114 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $54,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 111 Capital grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. 111 Capital now owns 28,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 423.2% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 247,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,126,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 904.6% in the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,162 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 369,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,652,000 after buying an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Huber Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. 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. Finally, Arete Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.25 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 41,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.82, for a total transaction of $1,162,430.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 604,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,821,808.12. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total transaction of $961,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 95,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. This trade represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 676,784 shares of company stock valued at $18,534,231 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery signed a World Series of Poker broadcast deal, which adds another content partnership and could support its media and sports programming strategy. WBD signs World Series of Poker broadcast deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted WBD has been little changed since its last earnings report, with investors still waiting for a clearer operational turnaround. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Down 0.4% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at blocking the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction, while other reports say states are preparing their own legal challenge, keeping the deal in limbo. U.S. states are preparing a lawsuit to block Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros
• Negative Sentiment: State attorneys general planning a lawsuit to block the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is the biggest near-term concern, since it raises the odds of delay or even failure of the deal. Stock Market Today, June 5: Warner Bros. Discovery Falls on Reports of State Antitrust Challenge to Paramount Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Political scrutiny is increasing, with Senator Elizabeth Warren calling for a foreign-ownership review of the Paramount-WBD deal, adding another potential hurdle. Elizabeth Warren Calls For Foreign Ownership Review Of Paramount-WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

WBD opened at $26.24 on Friday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.11 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.79 billion, a PE ratio of -37.49 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.40.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.93 EPS for the current year.

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.