J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Takes $1.15 Million Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 39,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,147,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBD. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,639.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,788,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,066,000 after acquiring an additional 22,308,046 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,492,112,000 after purchasing an additional 18,736,600 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,413,000 after purchasing an additional 18,291,865 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,896,000. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,916,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 0.1%

WBD opened at $27.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.52 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.80 and a beta of 1.63.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, Huber Research downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 374,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $10,499,760.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 663,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,607,809. This trade represents a 36.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total value of $961,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 95,539 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,411.72. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025 over the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.