Strs Ohio Acquires 505,864 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 39.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,779,871 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 505,864 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $20,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WBD. Independent Franchise Partners LLP bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth about $140,224,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth about $96,971,000. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth about $65,031,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 63.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,839,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,700,000 after purchasing an additional 4,994,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 256,820,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,755,679,000 after purchasing an additional 4,169,240 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 3.8%

WBD opened at $22.45 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.38 and its 200-day moving average is $12.92. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.52 and a 1-year high of $22.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $55.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.84, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.73.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.79. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 2.14%. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($4.07) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WBD shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.91.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 530,793 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $10,350,463.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,141,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,252,425. This trade represents a 31.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Anton J. Levy bought 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.00 per share, with a total value of $825,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 949,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,439,000. The trade was a 8.58% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 970,115 shares of company stock worth $17,818,490. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.