Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 39.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,535,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,328,762 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $101,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth about $3,438,000. Hauser Brothers GmbH boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 19.8% during the third quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 2,877,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,188,000 after purchasing an additional 476,000 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 32.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 175,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,423,000 after purchasing an additional 43,240 shares during the last quarter. Triad Investment Management purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth about $9,383,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 916,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,419,000 after purchasing an additional 38,105 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery used its upfront event to highlight new ad products, real-time measurement tools, and upcoming content, which may help support its ad sales and revenue growth outlook. WBD Upfront: New Ad Solutions, Real-Time Dashboard
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced new programming across its cable and kids networks, signaling continued investment in content that could help retain audiences and advertisers. Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Premiere Of New Shows Sampat Champat On POGO & Kian & Kiki On Cartoon Network
• Positive Sentiment: Paramount is publicly defending the merger and arguing that the combined company would have incentives to support theatrical releases, which could reassure some investors that the deal has strategic logic. Paramount Defends Warner Bros. Discovery Merger In Letter To California AG, Says Combined Companies Will Have Incentive To Boost Theatrical
• Neutral Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation emphasized performance marketing and ad tech improvements, but much of the coverage was more industry commentary than a clear financial catalyst. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Upfront Was All About Performance
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention has increased around WBD ahead of the merger debate, reflecting heightened speculation rather than a fundamental business update. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. and EU lawmakers said European regulators will closely examine Paramount’s bid for WBD, raising the risk of a tougher antitrust review and a slower or blocked deal process. U.S., EU lawmakers pledge European scrutiny of Paramount’s WBD deal
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage of the upfront event portrayed it as weak or overly focused on the merger, suggesting uncertainty around the company’s standalone narrative and strategic direction. The Warner Bros. Discovery upfront felt more like a funeral

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total value of $961,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,411.72. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 41,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 604,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,821,808.12. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $27.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.74 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.82 and a 52 week high of $30.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.90.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.36.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company 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.