Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stock Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,475 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Paramount Global were worth $1,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 559,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,585,000 after acquiring an additional 9,633 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. bought a new position in shares of Paramount Global during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,325,000. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 14,039 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 130,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares during the period. Finally, Hedges Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 35,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 73.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paramount Global Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:PARA traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.49. 8,790,983 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,878,023. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.63 and its 200-day moving average is $12.32. Paramount Global has a 12-month low of $9.54 and a 12-month high of $17.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The business had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paramount Global will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is -133.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PARA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $9.50 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Paramount Global from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Argus downgraded Paramount Global from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.29.

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.